Unafraid Of You
by LadyOfElves
Summary: Courtney, Allison, and Stephanie were average girls, and the best of friends. One car accident sends them into a world that they never thought could ever exist. It is in Rivendell that the seed of love begins to grow. But is it strong enough?
1. Chapter 1

**Author: **Socrgal318

**Summary: **Three girls and one disaster that lead them to the greatest love they could find.

**Disclaimer: **The elves are not mine! They belong to Tolkein. But the girls are mine. Yay!

**Unafraid Of You**

**Ch.1: The Accident**

"Come on Steph! I don't want to be here any longer than I really have to!" Courtney smiled at her friend, watching her place her books into her clean organized locker.

Stephanie laughed and playfully punched her friend of two years. "Cool it will ya? I'm almost done."

Courtney watched as Stephanie made sure she had the books she needed. "So, what are you doing this weekend?"

"I have church on Sunday and that's pretty much it unless my mom makes me deliver papers. Ick! I hate doing that," Stephanie looks over Courtney's shoulder and waves. "Hey Ali Cat!"

A medium height blond girl bounced up to the two and smiled. "Hey, sorry I'm kinda late. I had to talk to my teacher about something."

"That's okay Ali. Are you doing anything this weekend? Courtney and I might do something and we'd like it if you could tag along. It could be a girls night out," she closed her locker and the three began to walk towards the doors that led out to the buses.

Allison shrugged her shoulders. "Sounds good to me as long as we don't have to invite Devon."

Courtney laughed and slung an arm around Allison's shoulders. "No guys, I promise. They're driving me crazy anyways."

Stephanie waved at Courtney. "I'll call you later and we'll figure out what to do. Then I'll call Allison. Sound good?"

Courtney hugged her. "Alright. I'll try to get my stories to you tonight if we do something. I know how bad you want to read them."

"You better missy!" Steph waved as Courtney stepped onto her bus.

Allison waved to them and walked away with Stephanie, looking forward to their girl's night out.

She heard a car horn honk from outside and quickly grabbed her purse and cell phone. Courtney checked to see that she had her house key and shouted down the stairs into the basement.

"Bye Mom! I'll be back later!"

Mrs. Dennis appeared at the bottom of the steps and waved. "Be careful and call me on your cell phone if you need me."

Courtney blew her a kiss. "Alright Mom. I'll see you later."

"Bye sweetie," Mrs. Dennis watched her daughter disappear out the door and went back to lie down on the couch to finish watching a movie.

Allison pulled her mirror out of her purse and inspected her make-up. "So what is this movie rated you guys. Remember, I'm still sixteen and can't see rated R movies."

"Yeah, we know that you baby," Stephanie laughed at Allison's pretend angry face. "Oh stop it, you know I'm kidding."

Courtney listened to her two friends bicker in a friendly way. She gazed out the window and watched the trees and houses go by. It was times like these that she felt truly loved and cared for. There was nothing else in the world that compared with being with your two best friends.

"Earth to Courtney. Are you with us?" Stephanie took her eyes from the road to briefly look at the brown haired girl sitting in the passenger seat.

"I'm here. I was just thinking," she sat up straight and smiled at Stephanie, not wanting her to worry.

Allison laid a hand on Courtney's shoulder. "Are you okay? What were you thinking about?"

Sighing, Courtney looked out the window again. "I was just thinking about how I feel more at home with you girls than with my own family."

"Well we're always here for you hun, you know that," Stephanie turned into Pizza Hut and parked the car. "Here we are. Who's hungry for pizza?"

Allison and Courtney grinned at each other slyly before shouting together, "I AM!!!"

Stephanie laughed and led the way into the pizza shop. She opened the door for her friends and waited for them to walk in. The wind tousled her black-brown hair. There was something different about this night. It felt normal in the way that she was with her friends like she was every weekend, but then again, something stirred in her heart and made her think otherwise.

"Come on Steph! We're hungry!"

Stephanie shook her head to clear her thoughts and glared playfully at Allison. "I'm coming. Hold your horses!"

"That was amazing! I think I could go without food for the next week," Allison sat back in her chair and laid her hands on her stomach, feeling quite full and happy.

Courtney shook her head and laughed softly. "Allison you couldn't go three says without food and you know it."

Allison stuck her tongue out at Courtney, and then laughed at the childish act. "Okay, you win."

The server brought the check to them and Stephanie looked at it. She pulled out her money and laid a twenty dollar bill on the tray with the bill and handed it back to the server with a smile.

"Once I get my change back, we can go rent movies and go back to my house to watch them," Stephanie thanked the server when he brought back her change and stood up. Allison and Courtney nodded their heads in agreement and stood up as well. The three walked out of Pizza Hut silently.

Feeling odd that they weren't saying anything to each other, Courtney started the conversation. "So what movies are we getting?"

Stephanie turned the car on and put on her seat belt, grinning wickedly. "Something scary."

Courtney felt her heart beat faster. "Again? We watched scary movies last weekend. Can't we just watch something nice this time?"

Allison nodded her head. "I'm with her. I don't feel like peeing my pants tonight Steph so let's get something decent and not scary."

"Alright alright you couple of babies," Stephanie laughed and made to turn out of the Pizza Hut parking lot. Not thinking about where she was looking, she pulled out right away to try and beat the traffic that was coming at her. The last thing she heard was the sound of Courtney and Allison screaming before they were hit by a truck. Then, the whole world went black.

**Ch.2: Seeing You**

Where was she? She had to be in heaven right? There was no way that she could have survived that accident. But if she was dead she wouldn't be breathing and her heart wouldn't be beating as fast as it was. She forced her eyes to open, as tired as they were.

"Relax, don't try to move. You're hurt badly."

Stephanie squinted her eyes, the sunlight burning her eyes, giving her a headache. "Where am I?"

The voice was soft and soothing. The sound of it relaxed her mind and her body seemed to lose some of its tension. "You're in Rivendell my lady. Please, try to get some rest. There will be plenty of time to talk later when you are better."

She tried so hard to focus her eyes on the speaker but it was impossible. Her eyes were just too tired to want to focus so she laid her head back on the pillow and gave in to a dreamless but fitful sleep.

"Where did she come from ada?"

Elrond shook his head as he took the girl's pulse. It was steady and she was in no danger of dying or getting any worse. "I don't know Elladan. Her clothing is that of another world. I think she might have come to us from somewhere unknown to us."

Elladan turned his gaze to the injured girl on his bed. Her black-brown hair spilled out over the pillow, forming a halo around her head, making her look ethereal and beautiful. She looked like she was in so much pain. He wanted to soothe it away so much.

Elrond laid a cold cloth on the girl's forehead. "She should be awake within a few hours. Then we can question her as to what happened and what might have brought her here."

Elladan saw the tiredness in his father's eyes. "Do you want me to sit with her ada so you can go take some rest? Valar knows you need it."

"Thank you Elladan. I would appreciate that very much. When she wakes up, send someone to come get me, okay?" Elrond watched his son nod his head and gaze at the young girl with curiosity. Satisfied that everything was okay, Elrond walked out of his sons' bedroom and into his own bedroom to take a much needed nap.

He had been reading a book when he first noticed that she was stirring in her sleep. Elladan walked over to his bed and sat on the edge of it. He replaced the old cloth with a new cold one and smiled when she opened her eyes. They were a hazel color. Not a color that he was used to seeing in someone's eyes.

Stephanie stared up at him, wondering who he was. It was then that she noticed his ears were pointed delicately at the tip. "Who are you? What are you? Where am I?"

Elladan laughed at her string of questions. "Calm yourself pen-neth. You are safe here. My name is Elladan and I am an elf. As for where you are, you are in Rivendell, also known as Imladris."

"What? Rivendell? Did you just say Rivendell?" Stephanie sat up and took a good look around. The room was big and had a fireplace at the far side of it. There was a door in sight that led into a bathroom. To the right there was a large balcony that opened itself to her, almost beckoning her to go out onto it for fresh air.

"Is there something wrong my lady? You act as though you don't believe that you are here," Elladan gently grabbed her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles in a soothing gesture. He hoped he didn't scare her.

Stephanie sighed and shook her head. "This has got to be a dream. I can't be in Rivendell. It doesn't really exist."

Elladan stared at her confused. "But it does exist. You're here. This is it."

"Okay, I think I'm going to wake up any minute now. Yep, I'll wake up in the hospital, where I should be, and everything will be normal again," she tried to stand up but felt her knees buckle underneath her. Elladan caught her just in time and laid her back in the bed.

"Don't try to get up like that. You have a really bad gash across your leg. May I ask what happened to you?" he gently laid her body on his bed and covered her back up with the soft silk sheets and warm wool blankets.

Stephanie frowned, remembering what had happened. "I was in a car accident." It was then that her friends first appeared in her mind since she had woken up. Her eyes got wide and she began to panic. "Where are they? Are they here? Are thy okay?"

He didn't understand any of what she was saying. Who was she talking about? "Who, my lady? Who do you speak of?"

"My friends! Courtney and Allison! Where are they?" Stephanie searched his eyes for anything that might reassure her about her friends. Anything that would tell her that they were okay.

"I know not who you speak of. As far as I know, they are not here. Just you," Elladan hated the sadness that took over her features. The last thing she needed was more pain, physical or emotional.

Stephanie laid back and closed her eyes, picturing her friends and remembering their smiles and their laughter. "I'll never see them again."

Elladan looked down at the floor. "I am sorry about your friends. Maybe you will see them again someday."

"I hope so. They mean everything to me. I don't know what I'll do without them," she snuggled under the covers and stared up at the ceiling.

"What is your name my lady?" Elladan watched her snuggled under the covers and found himself wishing he could join her and just hold her close to him.

Stephanie smiled at him. "My name is Stephanie, but I like to be called Steph."

"I have to go get my father to check on your wounds and to get you something to eat. You need to keep your energy up," Elladan patted her hand and stood up from the bed.

"Elladan?"

He turned to face her, liking the way his name sounded on her lips. "Yes?"

Stephanie smiled at him, hating that he was leaving, even if it was only for a brief moment to get her food. "Thank you so much."

"For what?"

"Just for being here to talk to me and keep me calm," she smiled one last time before rolling over on her side, away from Elladan, to fall asleep, a smile on her face.

Elladan smiled and shook his head. "You are welcome ithil-nin."


	2. Chapter 2

**Unafraid Of You: Part 2**

**Ch.3 Explanations:**

It was a couple days before she felt like getting out of bed to explore her new surroundings. Stephanie swung her feet over the side of the bed and tried to stand up. She was kind of wobbly at first, but after a few minutes she could walk just fine. The wound on her leg had healed completely, leaving behind a long scar across her thigh. She softly walked over to the bedroom door and poked her head out of the room. She looked down both ends of the hallway before turning to go left. She had reached a room that was like an enclosed patio. There were chairs and small tables next to those chairs that had pitchers and wine glasses on them.

"Finally decided to walk around?"

She turned around quickly, startled at first, and then smiled when she saw who it was. "I was getting sick and tired of staring at the ceiling. I had to get out of there."

Elladan smiled and chuckled softly. "I understand that feeling all too well mellon-nin."

Stephanie smiled at the endearment. "Hanon lle."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You speak elvish?"

"I can speak it somewhat. My friend Courtney got me started on learning it."

"You must miss her. You have talked about her so much," Elladan watched her lower her eyes to the floor.

Stephanie shrugged her shoulders. "I might as well stop talking about her. I'll never see her or Allison again. I just wish I knew what happened to them and if they're okay."

Elladan walked over to her and hugged her. They had become good friends since she had arrived in Rivendell. "You don't know that. Keep your spirits up."

"It's just so hard to accept that I won't see them again. We did everything together and now it's like I dreamed it all. I feel like I didn't appreciate them enough or something. Maybe I'm just trying to guilt trip myself," Stephanie looked up at him. There was something in his eyes that made her heart beat faster each time she saw him. What was it and why was it making her feel so strange?

"Would you like a glass of wine?" Elladan poured two glasses and handed one to Stephanie.

She stared at the drink, unsure if she wanted it or not. "I don't usually drink. Okay, I've never been _allowed _to drink."

Elladan smiled in understanding. "Don't feel like you have to drink it pen-neth."

"I just feel like I'm being rude," Stephanie sat the glass down on the table and stared at it.

"How so?"

She looked at him once more, her heart doing a flip as she felt her cheeks blush. "Usually when someone offers you a drink it's polite to accept it even if you don't want it but I just can't do it. I don't really like the taste of wine. It has a bad aftertaste."

He laughed out loud and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "You are just too cute for your own good mellon-nin."

"It's my job to be cute," She laughed and let him lead her out of the room to the dining hall where a rather large lunch was awaiting them.

The scent of morphine and medication filled her nostrils as she focused her eyes. She looked around the room, not remembering what had happened. Just then, someone walked into the room and smiled at her, laying their hand on her forehead.

"It's about time you woke up. We were starting to worry about you."

"Where am I?"

"I am Nurse Ann and you're at Aultman Hospital," Ann checked to see that her patient was comfortable.

Courtney tried to sit up but immediately laid back down as pain shot throughout her body. "What happened?"

Ann frowned. "You were in a terrible car accident. You're lucky you survived."

_Oh my gosh! Steph! Allison! _"Where are my friends?"

"There was only one other there. I think her name was Allison. She's in the next room. She will fully recover," Ann began to tidy the room and placed new blankets at the foot of the bed.

"What about Stephanie? Is she okay?" Courtney didn't like the look on the nurse's face.

Ann walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. "There was no body found. It was like it disappeared. Stephanie's body is gone."

_Gone? How can that be? _"That doesn't make any sense though. She was the one driving. Her body has to be there somewhere."

"There was no body. The accident site has been cleaned up for the past week and no one ever saw her body," Ann stood up and began to walk out of the room.

Courtney stared ahead in disbelief. How could she be gone? Where could she have gone? This was something that not only bothered her, but scared her half to death as well.

"Thank you for coming Stephanie. I think I know how you got here," Elrond motioned for her to sit down on the couch. She did so, quietly, and listened intently to what he had to say.

Elrond sat down across from her and sighed. "I think that just before you were supposed to die, someone, or something, saved you and brought you here."

Stephanie scrunched up her face. "What? Whoa dude you lost me. Who could have saved me and why?"

"You wouldn't have been brought here if you weren't meant to be here," Elrond searched her face for some kind of understanding. "And as for who saved you, I don't really know."

"So you're saying that I'm needed here? Why? Why me?" She sat back and brought her feet up onto the couch so she could be more comfortable.

Elrond shook his head. "I have no idea. I have written to Lady Galadriel of Lothlorien. I think she may know how to better explain this."

Stephanie couldn't believe that this was happening to her. Rivendell was a beautiful place and all, but it wasn't where her friends were, save for Elladan and his twin brother Elrohir that she had met that afternoon after lunch.

"I keep telling myself that this is all some kind of psycho dream that I can't wake up from. I want to see my friends Elrond. Somehow. Someway. I have to know that they are okay after what happened," Stephanie felt tears form behind her eyes. It wasn't until she didn't have them that she truly understood how precious they had been to her. Always making her laugh even when she didn't want to. Always finding a way to cheer her up when she was hurting the most.

Elrond watched her. She was deep in thought and he was loathe to interrupt it at the moment. She seemed so melancholy all of a sudden. "There may be a way, but I will have to talk it over with Galadriel first."

Stephanie looked at him with wide hopeful eyes. "Please, I would do anything just to know that they were okay."

He smiled at her and lightly kissed her forehead, as if she was his own daughter. "I will help you in any way that I can. I promise."

"Hanon lle Elrond. I appreciate it so much."

**Ch.4 Disagreement Between Siblings**

"Elladan? Are you okay?" Elrohir furrowed his brow in concern. This was the third time that he had caught his twin day dreaming and staring off into space. It was starting to worry him.

Shaking his head of his thoughts, Elladan smiled at his brother. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

Elrohir laughed. "You've been day dreaming all day gwador. What is on your mind?"

"Nothing. I'm just in a good mood, that's all," Elladan turned away from Elrohir to continue polishing his dueling knives.

Catching on to something, Elrohir grabbed the bottle of polish and ran away a few feet with it. Elladan threw his brother and evil look and held out his hand.

"Give it back, 'Ro. I'm not done yet."

Smiling brilliantly, Elrohir tossed the bottle from one hand to the other. "Tell me what's on your mind and maybe I'll give it back."

Elladan took a few steps towards Elrohir, who backed away. "Come on Elrohir, you aren't being fair. Now give me that bottle right now."

"If you would cooperate with me you'd make things a whole lot easier. So tell me, what's her name?" Elrohir laughed at the shocked look that crossed Elladan's face.

He sighed and looked at the floor. "Stephanie." He mumbled it quickly and quietly so he could get away with at least saying it.

Elrohir lifted a hand to his ear. "What was that brother? I didn't catch that."

"Leave it be, Elrohir. I said her name and you were dumb enough to miss it, now give me that polish," he was beginning to get really mad. Elladan looked up into his twins sympathetic face that looked exactly his in every aspect except the eye color.

"Don't get mad 'Dan. I'm just trying to get you to talk to me. We don't talk as much as we used to when we were elflings. I just miss it," Elrohir walked over to Elladan and laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently.

Elladan smiled sadly. "I'm sorry 'Ro. I didn't mean to ignore you."

Elrohir handed his brother the bottle of polish. "Here. Now, what was her name?"

"Stephanie," Elladan watched his brother's face change from happy to worrisome.

"Really? How long have you felt this way about her?" Elrohir picked up a book that he had been reading earlier and sat down with it on the couch.

Elladan didn't understand the look that he was given, but chose to ignore it. "Since I first saw her. What's got you so worried all of a sudden?"

Elrohir looked at Elladan with seriousness in his eyes. "She's mortal, 'Dan."

"Yes, so?"

"You can't be serious. Normally I would be happy for you but this is beyond anything that I can be happy for," Elrohir stood up in frustration and threw the book on the floor.

Elladan laid his weapons on the table and faced his twin with anger. "What is your problem? Have you gone mad? What is so bad about me being in love with her?"

Elrohir ran his hands through his hair nervously. "I won't lose you to a mortal Elladan. If you love her that means you have to give up your immortality to be with her and then when she dies you'll die too, of a broken heart. I won't let you do that to yourself Elladan."

"Listen to me Elrohir, and I want you to listen closely. I love her. I know you're only worried for me but you shouldn't be. It doesn't matter how I die or if I die, as long as I am with her nothing else matters," Without another word, Elladan sheathed his knives and stalked out the door, mumbling curses under his breath.

**Ch.5 The Promise Of Something New**

"I don't think I really like that color on me," Stephanie watched the seamstress roll her eyes and pull out another color of fabric.

Finwen sighed. "You must pick a color my lady. You need some gowns and dresses for the banquets."

Stephanie loved how impatient the elves around here got. It was entertaining to tease them every once and a while. It was kind of like teasing her friends. A small pang of pain tore through her heart at the thought of them. "I think I like that red color that you have in your left hand."

"I thought the reds might interest you. Not very many elves around here look good in red except for Elrond's children of course. But that's only because they got their father's dark coloring instead of their mother's fair coloring," Finwen held the scarlet red fabric up to Stephanie and smiled. "Yes, it suits you. I will take the other colors that you chose and I'll make you some beautiful dresses to wear."

"Thank you Finwen. I'm sorry if I've been a pain. I just – "

"…miss your friends? It's understandable pen-neth. Things will work out though. I know they will and you shouldn't worry. You'll see them again," With one last smile, Finwen picked up the many colors of fabric and breezed out of the room. Stephanie walked over to the balcony and leaned against it, resting her arms on the banister. The wind played with her hair that had grown quite long since she had arrived in Rivendell about a month ago. Had it really been that long already? She closed her eyes and let her mind go blank. So much had happened and all she wanted was a little peace of mind.

There was one thing that strayed on the edge of her mind that haunted her day and night. He was always there in her dreams. Smiling at her. Laughing with her. He was everything she wanted and more, but he was not to be had for the wanting. How could and immortal elf like him ever love a mortal like her that would one day die and never be seen again?

A couple hours passed as she watched the sun set in the sky, letting the stars and moon take their turn in the endless sky. She heard her door open and someone walk in, but she ignored it, not wanting to leave such a peaceful sight. Warm hands rested on her shoulders and gently began to massage the tenseness out of them.

"Why so tense mellon-nin?"

She smiled and shook her head. "You know why Elladan. I'm anxious to hear news from Lady Galadriel. It's driving me crazy."

Elladan chuckled and continued his massage. He could tell that she was enjoying it by the way that she bowed her head to allow him better access to her neck and shoulders. "You must be patient. You will see them again. One way or another, you will see them."

Stephanie turned to face him and frowned. "I miss them 'Dan, I really do. I've said that over and over and it's probably annoying the heck out of everyone, but I can't help it. They're my best friends. Practically my sisters."

"I understand that, but you must have faith and you need to be patient," He offered her a comforting smile then gently held her hand in his and lead her back into her bedroom. "I was told to bring these dresses up to you."

Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed upon the beautiful pieces of clothing in front of her. Each dress was different from the other in some way. There was even a tunic and leggings laying there that she could use for riding.

"Wow. Finwen really over did it," Stephanie picked up the tunic and held it in her hands. The fabric was extremely light and softer than silk. It ran through her hands, almost like water. On the left of the tunic, right above the breast, there was an "S" stitched into it.

"You like it? I had it made for you so that we can go riding tomorrow morning after breakfast. Would you go with me?" Elladan watched her face light up. She threw her arms around him and hugged him close.

"Thank you Elladan. I would love to go riding with you. I have to say that I don't really know how to ride," Stephanie felt her cheeks get hot. He reached out and held her face in his hands, lifting her gaze to meet his. His eyes seemed so endless.

Elladan knew that he had gotten this far, he couldn't go back now. He only hoped that he was reading the signs right, that she liked him as much as he liked her. Slowly he lowered his head to hers, searching her eyes for any sign of uneasiness. When he found none, he softly brushed his lips against hers in a tender kiss. Feeling her body relax, he became bolder with the kiss and deepened it, exploring her mouth and enjoying every moment of it. Too soon, they both needed air and pulled away.

Stephanie couldn't believe what had just happened. She had never even thought, not even in her wildest dreams, that she would get her first kiss from an elf. Maybe from Logan Seaman, which was believable, but not from an elf.

"I've wanted to do that for quite some time now," Elladan never let go of her face. He kept it in his hands, not wanting her to look away. He needed to look in her eyes to know what she was feeling.

Stephanie smiled. "Wow. And that's all there is to say about it."

Elladan laughed and pulled her close into a warm hug. "This is a promise of something new and exciting meleth-nin. I can't wait to get started."

"What does that mean? Meleth-nin? I like the sound of it."

"It means _my love_. And that's what you are to me," Elladan couldn't help but smile at the blush that crossed her face. "You're cute when you blush."

Stephanie playfully punched his arm. "Don't say that! You'll only make me blush more and I hate blushing."

Elladan grabbed her hand as she went to punch his arm again. "You know, it isn't nice to punch someone that loves you." Quick as lightning, before she could say anything, he captured her lips with his in a bruising kiss, completely taking her off guard. She relaxed into it eventually and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. It was in that position that they were found by Glorfindel and Erestor who had wanted to tell them that dinner was ready.

"This is new, isn't it Erestor?" Glorfindel smiled at his friend then chuckled at the bright red faces that now looked down at the floor, embarrassed for being caught.

Erestor shook his head, a smile crossing his face. "Don't tease them so Fin. You wouldn't like to be teased if someone caught you in a situation like that."

Glorfindel laughed. "Alright, alright. Come on you two, dinner is ready and i'd rather you eat the food than each other please."

Stephanie and Elladan nodded, and then gave a relieved sigh when the advisors finally left the room. Elladan smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to be embarrassed like that."

"Don't worry about it. I guess it could have been worse," She grabbed the blue dress that was lying on her bed and disappeared into the bathing room to change. When she came out she spun around for Elladan to see the whole thing. It was a pale baby blue dress that went down to the floor. The sleeves were long and ended in a bell. The neck came down low, showing little of her breasts and the fabric clung to her body, showing off her form.

Elladan stared in awe at the young woman in front of him. "I think I might just skip dinner and have you instead."

Stephanie laughed. "Don't you dare. I'm hungry and I want real food, thank you very much."

"Fine, but I'm saving room for desert," Elladan grabbed her hand and lead her out of her room, closing the door behind them.

"What kind of deserts to elves eat?" Thinking her question was innocent enough, Stephanie completely missed the smirk directed at her.

Elladan leaned in close to her ear as they walked. "I don't know about other elves, but right now my desert is holding my hand."


	3. Chapter 3

**Unafraid Of You**

**Ch.6 Someone Special**

She walked as quickly as she could down the hallway to Elrond' study without knocking anyone over in the process. This had to be it. Why else would he want to see her alone in his study if not for that one reason? She stopped where she stood and took his note out of her jeans pocket and read it through one more time.

_Stephanie,_

_I must see you in my study as soon as you are able. There is something that we must discuss and someone is here to see you. I hope you come quickly and with haste. This is a matter of importance._

_Sincerely,_

_Elrond_

There was nothing more to it. This had to be about Galadriel's letter. Her heart threatening to burst from her chest was not helping the nervous feeling that spread throughout her body like a poison that refused to leave the body. She arrived at Elrond's study and suddenly felt like she wanted to turn back. But there was no turning back, not now. Slowly she turned the doorknob and poked her head in, searching for Elrond's stoic and calm face.

Elrond looked up from his desk and offered her a smile, it was forced, she could tell, but a smile none the less and it did help to calm her somewhat.

"I got your note and came as soon as I could. What's going on?"

Elrond nodded his head to the corner of the room where a dark figure stood with a hooded cloak pulled up over their head to hide their face from view. "I have someone that you might want to see."

Stephanie took a step closer to the figure, trying to see past the dark hood. "Who are you? Why don't you say something?"

The figure pulled her hood back and stood there, gazing at Stephanie with glittering eyes. "Hey Steph."

"No flipping way! This is so not happening!" Stephanie covered her mouth with her hand and stared at the girl in front of her. "You aren't really here."

"Yes, actually I am. I know it's a shocker, but I am here nonetheless," she took a step towards Stephanie and touched her shoulder. "See, I'm real. Not a ghost."

Stephanie lost all control of herself and threw her arms around the girl. "I have missed you so much Courtney! Oh my God! You're really here!"

Tear after tear fell from both pairs of eyes as they embraced each other for what seemed like an eternity. Courtney held on tight, not wanting her friend to evaporate before her eyes. It was so unbelievable that she was here and that she was back with her best friend.

Elrond watched the tearful reunion with a smile. It was good to see two such lonely hearts joined together again in the bond of friendship. It was rare to see such a bond between two people. He cleared his throat and smiled at them both. He looked at Stephanie who was wiping away her tears and laughing at the same time.

"I guess you want an explanation as to how your friend got here?"

Stephanie nodded her head and sat down on the couch next to Courtney, still not believing that she was reunited with he friend. "That would be nice. Who brought her here and how?"

Elrond sat down across from them in a chair and poured them all glasses of wine. It was greatly accepted. Wine suddenly sounded really good after such a meeting. "Well why don't you ask Courtney. I'm sure she could better explain it than I could."

Courtney turned to face Stephanie on the couch. "It started with a dream."

"A dream?" Stephanie raised an eyebrow in question. That was weird.

"Yeah, a dream. I saw some elf woman dressed all in white. She spoke to me in the elvish language. I was surprise that I understood her. Anyways, she told me that I was needed. When I asked her where and why, she just smiled and held out her hand to me. She told me that everything would be alright and that I didn't belong on Earth. She said it wasn't where my destiny was. When I woke up, I didn't recognize where I was at all. I ended up in Mirkwood under the care of King Thranduil and his son Legolas. They took care of me and after a month or two I was called away to travel to Lothlorien to see Lady Galadriel. She told me where to find you and here I am."

Stephanie listened intently to every word. "Wow, what a story. So you've been here all this time? Why didn't you ever write to me?"

"I didn't know that you were here until I had talked to Galadriel about two weeks ago. I was so excited to see you. I missed you so much," Courtney felt a tear fall down her cheek. It never failed. Whenever she thought she was done crying, one more tear had to fall.

"We're with each other again now so don't cry anymore. Now, my next question is, what about Allison? Where is she?" Stephanie watched Courtney and Elrond exchanged concerned faces.

Elrond stood up and began to pace back and forth. "We think she was sent to Gondor."

"Huh? What did you say? What the heck is that?" Stephanie heard Courtney laughing and couldn't help but join in.

"Don't you remember the movies? Gondor is the kingdom that Aragorn is king of. We think that is where Allison is," Courtney stood up and stretched, her legs cramped from having them folded under her for such a long time.

Stephanie followed her actions. "Well, are we going to go get her? We can't just leave her there. I'm sure she's freaking out at this very minute."

Elrond turned a worried gaze to Stephanie. "Freaking out? Why would she do that?"

Courtney and Stephanie looked at each other and laughed. "It's one of those things about Allison that make her Allison. She freaks out over EVERYTHING. No exaggeration."

Stephanie laughed harder. "It's the truth Elrond. Wait until you meet her. I'm sure she'll find something around here to get worked up about!"

Elrond shook his head and laughed. "Well I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on so go get yourselves something to eat and enjoy each other's company."

Both girls walked towards the study doors and began to walk out. Stephanie touched Courtney's arm and told her to wait a minute. "Elrond?"

"Yes?"

"Any word from Galadriel, other than Courtney I mean?" Stephanie looked at him with hopeful eyes.

Elrond shook his head, unable to hide the disappointment in his eyes. "No, nothing yet. But she will answer pen-neth."

Stephanie smiled and thanked him then led Courtney to the kitchens to see if they could teach the cooks how to make pizza and maybe they could find something close to ranch dressing to go with it.

**Ch.7 Playing Matchmaker**

"Where are we going Steph? I don't think I like this blindfolding thing," Courtney waved her hand out in front of her to feel where she was going.

Stephanie laughed. "Blindfolds are fun and can serve a purpose."

Courtney sighed. "The last time you blindfolded me was on my birthday and we ended up at Chuckie Cheese's and couldn't get in because we weren't 18 or older."

"That was so stupid. Completely messed with our plans. Well I can tell you that we aren't going to Chuckie Cheese's. We're going to see someone," Stephanie laughed to herself as Courtney proceeded to go on and on about how unfair this was.

Courtney stopped walking and crossed her arms. "Come on, take this dumb thing off of me. It's driving me crazy!"

"Oh shut up and quit being such a cry baby. We're almost there," Smiling, she walked them through the house until they got to the sitting room. Stephanie smiled at the twins and put a finger to her mouth to tell them to keep quiet. "Stay here Courtney. I'll be right back and don't you dare touch that blindfold or I'll make more deadlines for your stories."

"You're so mean," Courtney laughed.

Stephanie walked over to the other side of the room and kissed Elladan sweetly on the lips and hugged Elrohir.

Elrohir eyed the blindfolded girl. "Who is that?"

"Someone very special to me. She's practically my sister in every way and I wanted you to meet her," Stephanie smiled at him and turned her gaze to Elladan. "You've already met her."

Elladan nodded his head. "Yes, I have. She's a very sweet girl, funny too."

"Why did you blindfold her? That seems a little cruel," Elrohir smiled at the smirk on Steph's face.

Stephanie couldn't hold in her laughter. "I'll have to tell you a story about Courtney and blindfold's sometime. It's pretty funny. I blindfolded her because she hates it and I like to annoy her sometimes."

Elrohir hugged her. "Alright, I'll go save her and un-blindfold her."

Stephanie grabbed Elladan's hand as they watched Elrohir walk to the other end of the room. "I think he'll like her. What do you think?"

Elladan nodded his head at them. "I think they'll end up as more than just friends' meleth-nin."

Stephanie smiled and laid her head against his shoulder. "I hope so."

Elrohir stood in front of her and just stared at her. Her hair was short, about shoulder length and curly. She was medium height, a little taller than Steph. He watched his brother and Steph walk out of the room and finally felt like he could breathe. Slowly he reached out to pull down the blindfold.

Courtney felt that someone was close. She knew it wasn't Steph. If it was, she would be able to smell her perfume. What she smelled was pine and sandalwood mixed with cinnamon. She felt two strong hands on either side of her face, lying against the cloth of the blindfold. She reached up and touched the hands that so gently held her face.

"Who are you?"

Elrohir smiled. "Shall I remove your blindfold so you may see?"

Courtney laughed. "Please! I hate blindfolds!"

He carefully untied the knot in the back. As he untied it, he took in her scent. She smelled like vanilla and water lilies. Careful not to snag her hair, he untied the knot and let the soft cloth fall to the floor. Two blue-grey eyes stared back at him, glittering as she smiled up at him.

Elrohir stared at her. Quickly, he turned his gaze to the floor, embarrassed for staring. "I am sorry my lady. I didn't mean to stare."

Courtney shook her head. "It's no big deal. Don't worry about it. Please, call me Courtney. I don't like formalities."

"I am – "

"…Elrohir. Yes, I know all about you," Courtney smiled at his mild surprise.

Elrohir grabbed her hand and kissed it softly. "How do you know me?"

Courtney let her smile fade somewhat. "It's a long story. But it's a pleasure to meet you. Steph has said so many things about you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Elrohir stood up and let her hand fall to her side.

Courtney couldn't take her eyes off of him. He was amazing and that was putting it lightly. "I feel so out of place here, though I have noticed that Steph has learned to fit right in, boyfriend and all."

Elrohir laughed at her comment. "Yes, she and my brother have been together for about a month now. They really do like each other and it does my heart great joy to see them so happy."

"I'm glad that she finally found someone that she can love and who will love her back," Courtney smiled. It was then that the chimes sounded for dinner.

"Well, it looks like dinner will be served. May I escort you?" Elrohir held out his arm to her.

"I would like that very much, thank you," She looped her arm through his and together they walked to dinner, hearts beating faster than ever.

**Ch.8 Something More**

It had been a month since Courtney had arrived in Rivendell and she was already feeling like another member of the family, just like what Steph had become. It felt good to be with Steph and to be able to talk and joke around with her again. It was like winning the lottery. It was such a good feeling.

"So, what do you think of him?"

Courtney blushed. "He's nice."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Is that all the better you can do? Come on, tell me what you really think of him!"

"I like him. He's very sweet and kind, and he's easy to talk to," Courtney turned back to her stitching. The maids had been trying to teach her and Steph how to stitch and so far, Steph was having all the luck and all Courtney got was pricked and bloodied fingers.

"Has he tried to kiss you yet?" Stephanie watched her friends blush deepen to a deep crimson color. "You're blushing even more! He kissed you?"

Courtney looked around and shot her friend an ice cold glare. "Would you keep it down! And no, he hasn't tried yet."

Stephanie laughed. "I'm sure he will soon enough. Ow!" She shook her finger and then stuck it in her mouth.

"It's my job to get pricked, remember?" Both girls laughed and it was at that moment that Elrohir walked in.

"Good morning you two. Having fun with the stitching yet?" Elrohir dodged a playful punch in the arm from Steph and laughed.

Courtney threw down her stitching and crossed her arms over her chest. "This is the most ridiculous thing ever! I'm so done with this craziness!"

Elrohir picked up the stitching cloth and handed it back to her. "Here, don't give up on it. A few pricks shouldn't stop you from learning."

"I hate sewing. I'd rather be outside doing something than sitting inside trying to do this!" She sat her stitching on the table and looked over at Stephanie. "I'm going to go for a walk, do you want to come?"

Stephanie shook her head. "No, thank you. Elladan should be here soon. We're going to go see the horses today."

Elrohir held out his hand to Courtney. "May I accompany you on your walk?"

"Of course you can if you promise to behave while we're out," Courtney accepted his hand and he pulled her up out of her chair. They stood rather close for a brief moment then backed up a few steps to collect themselves. Stephanie laughed at this to herself and watched the soon to be couple walk out of the sitting room, arm in arm.

It was so peaceful. How could one place hold so much calmness and peace? It was enchanting and magical. "I've never been anywhere like this before. It's amazing."

Elrohir smiled at her gently and took a good look around. "This was my mother's favorite place to come and be alone. I used to visit her here as a child when I had no lessons. I always preferred the company of my mother rather than my father."

"How come? Did you and your father not get along or what?" Courtney let her arms fall to her side as they continued their lazy walk among the trees and flowers of the royal garden.

"My mother was always open for compassion and I felt that I could relate to her better. I did go to my father, sometimes, but it was mostly my mother that I favored above anyone," Elrohir looked at the girl next to him, trying to figure out how he had gotten so lucky as to become friends with her and have her so close to him now.

Courtney felt his eyes on her and felt butterflies in her stomach. What was he doing to her? "I don't think I really favored one parent over the other. I went to both of them equally as much. I suppose I did talk to my mom about more things than my dad, but my dad taught me so much as well through other ways."

Elrohir let his hand lightly touch hers. "You miss your family a lot, don't you?"

"I do, but I can get over it. I'll be okay, I hope," She felt her hand being held and squeezed the larger hand that held hers so softly.

"I like having you here Courtney. Everything in my life has changed for the better because you showed up. I feel like a really big hypocrite right now saying this," Elrohir laughed at himself.

Courtney looked at him, puzzled. "What makes you a hypocrite?"

Elrohir led her to a stone bench surrounded by daisies and daffodils and sat her down. He sat down next to her and held her hands in his. "I told Elladan, before you got here, that I thought he was making a mistake by falling in love with Stephanie."

"What? Why? They're so cute together," Courtney searched his eyes, almost losing herself in them.

"Elladan and I are half-elven. That means that when the time comes, we must choose to live among the elves and stay immortal and sail to Valinor, or we choose to live among the men and die as mortals. I was afraid that if he fell in love with Steph that he would choose to live as a mortal and I would lose him forever. I couldn't bear that. I love my brother and as twins we share a special bond. But now I see that when you love someone, everything else in the world just falls into the abyss and nothing else matters but the love that you bear for that person," Elrohir let out a breath of relief at saying that. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

She squeezed his hands and brought a hand up to lift his chin to look at her. "You don't know what it means to me that you feel that way. If I'm reading this the right way, can I say that you're confessing love for me?"

Elrohir rested his forehead against hers. Their lips were inches apart. He could feel her breath against his lips. "You would be right in assuming that. I've never felt this way before about anyone and it almost scares me, but I know everything is okay, as long as you're here with me."

"I'm here now Elrohir. Right here, right now," she looked away from his eyes to his lips and pressed her lips to his in a soft touch. Elrohir closed his eyes, enjoying the sensations coursing throughout his body and mind. He lightly nipped at her bottom lip before slipping his tongue between her lips, begging for entrance. She greatly accepted his kiss, drowning in the mere feel of it. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her waist, holding her close and tight against his body.

Courtney was the first to pull away, her lungs screaming for air but her lips wanting more of Elrohir's kiss. "That was amazing."

Elrohir laughed and held her face in his hands. "I'm glad that I have that affect on you meleth, now we need to get going before Elladan and Steph send out a search party to find us."

"Before we go, can I ask you something?"

Elrohir looked at her and smiled. "Of course. Ask me anything you want."

Courtney smiled hesitantly. "Do you love me? It may be a little early to ask this but, could you love me? Will you love me?"

"What on Middle-Earth would make you ask me that? Of course I love you! I just admitted it to you and what was that kiss if not a small sign of my love?" Elrohir held her hands tighter, afraid that she might pull away from him. She felt too good against him to lose her now. They fit together perfectly in one another's embrace. That was too much too give up.

"I just wanted to know. I would hate to get into something like this and end up being the one broken hearted," She stood up from the bench and pulled Elrohir up with her. "I'm tired of always being left behind like I have no feelings."

Elrohir hugged her close. "You have had your heart broken before?"

Courtney closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the images of the faces that she had fallen in love with, but had been brushed aside for someone new. "Yes."

"How could anyone want to break the heart of someone so kind and pure of soul? I would do anything for you. I would walk to the ends of the Earth if it meant that I could be with you. Please don't ever doubt my feelings for you. They would never falter," Elrohir pushed her away somewhat to look into her blue eyes, swimming with unshed tears. He kissed away each tear that proceeded to fall until all of her tears were spent. "Please don't cry anymore. I'm not like the others. This I promise you."

Courtney smiled then laughed. "Thank you so much. Amin mela lle Elrohir."

"Amin mela lle anor-nin," Elrohir took her by the hand and together they walked back to the palace where they were greeted by smiling faces and open arms.

Dinner was a pleasant time. Everyone was engaged in polite conversation, unless you were the twins who were poking fun at anyone that would allow them to do it. Stephanie looked around the table. A few months ago, so many of these faces would have been strangers to her, but now that she knew them, they gave her comfort.

Courtney kept her eyes on her plate most of the time. It was awkward to be sitting at a dinner table with people that she didn't know. It was good that she was next to Stephanie or else she might have gone mad with uneasiness.

"Are you alright Court. You look a little pale," Steph looked at her friend concerned.

Courtney forced a fake smile. "I'm fine Steph. I guess the food isn't agreeing with me tonight." She knew she was lying through her teeth, but she didn't want her friend to worry too much over her.

Stephanie gave Courtney a stern look. "Don't give me that! You're nervous, I can see it. You need to just relax and enjoy the conversation around you."

"Easier said than done Steph. You've had almost a year now to get used to this while I've only had a few months," Courtney looked back down at her plate and pushed the food around with her fork.

Elrohir happened to glance next to him at Courtney, to see how she was doing. He saw her uneasiness and became worried. "What's wrong meleth?"

"I'm fine Elrohir. I'm just not used to having so many pairs of eyes staring at me, that's all," she felt trapped. Just then, Lindir, the head minstrel, announced that music and dancing would now take place in the ballroom. Courtney heaved a heavy sigh of relief and accepted Elrohir's hand to help her out of her chair.

He smiled at her and looked her up and down. She was stunning tonight. Her hair was in a pile of curls at the top of her head, a few curls hanging down by her lightly tanned face. Her dress was a dark blue color and fitted to her figure perfectly, accenting her curves in all the right places. The sleeves were long and the neckline came down just low enough to show the curve of her chest.

"Is there something that interests you my lord?"

Elrohir laughed at her proper tone and played along. "I was just admiring your beautiful dress my lady. I apologize if my looking was not to your liking."

Courtney walked up closer to him and covered his lips with hers, in public! They stood there, locked in a heated kiss until she broke it, smiling triumphantly. "You are more than welcome to look meleth-nin. I am dressed this way only for you."

Still recovering from the initial shock, Elrohir smiled at her. "You amaze me more and more with each passing day. How do you do it?"

"Easy, I use my wit and charm," Courtney laughed.

"Both of which you have none of!" Stephanie laughed as Courtney stuck out her tongue.

Elrond walked up to them laughing, Elladan following closely behind. "If you two are done with your banter, can we go into the ballroom now and let the music and dancing commence?"

Courtney smiled slyly at Stephanie. "Do you remember prom?"

Stephanie nodded her head. "Heck yeah! But we aren't going to dance like THAT are we? I mean, we don't have the music for it."

"I wish we had that music. We'd really get the party started then!" She laughed and Stephanie laughed with her.

Elladan smiled, a little lost. "Am I better off not knowing?"

Stephanie kissed his cheek and held his hand. "It's just one of those memories that will forever be etched in my brain causing me nightmares at night."

"Hey! That was the best night ever and you helped to make it a nightmare," Courtney looped her arm through Elrohir's and let him lead her to the ballroom where the night would really start to kick in.

The night moved on as if it was a dream. All night Courtney and Stephanie danced and laughed with each other and the other elves around them. The music stopped and everyone's attention turned to Lindir, who addressed the crowd.

"My lords and ladies, we will now finish out the night with singing songs and telling stories. Would anyone like to sing us a song?" Lindir looked around the room. His eyes rested on someone and he smiled. "Courtney? Stephanie? Why don't you two sing us a song?"

Courtney looked at Stephanie nervously. "Do we sing?"

"I guess we do now," Stephanie smiled nervously.

"Steph! The only singing I do is when I'm in the shower or with you driving in your car blaring Britney Spears!" Courtney felt her heart begin to race. Singing in public was not a strong suit of hers.

Stephanie gave her a comforting smile. "Let's just sing a song and get it over with. Soon it will all just be a bad dream."

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Yeah, a bad dream come true."

"What will you sing for us?" Elrond looked from one girl to the other, smiling.

Courtney said the first song that happened to come across her mind. "It's called _The Prayer_. I hope you enjoy it.

_Courtney:_

_I pray you'll be our eyes and watch us where we go. And help us to be wise in times when we don't know. Let this be our prayer when we lose our way. Lead us to a place. Guide us with your grace to a place where we'll be safe._

_Stephanie:Courtney:_

_La luce che tu dai I pray we'll find your light_

_Nel cuore restera And hold it in our hearts_

_A ricordarci che When stars go out each night_

_Eterna stella sei oh…_

_Nella mia preghier Let this be our prayer_

_Quanta feda c'eWhen shadows fill our day_

_Lead us to a palceGuide us with your grace_

_Both:_

_Give us faith so we'll be safe._

_Sogniamo un mondo senza piu violenza._

_Un mondo di guistizia e di speranza._

_Ognuno diala mano a vicino._

_Simbolo di pace, di fraternita._

_Stephanie:Courtney:_

_La forza che ci daWe ask that life be kind_

_E desidero cheAnd watch us from above_

_Orguno trave amore We hope each soul will find_

_Interno ed entro se another soul to love_

_Both:_

_Let this be our prayer_

_Courtney:_

_Let this be our prayer_

_Stephanie:_

_Just like every child._

_Courtney:_

_Just like every child._

_Both:_

_Need to find a place. Guide is with your grace. Give us faith so we'll be safe._

_Nella fed ache. Ha accesso in noi. Sento che ci salvera._

They both held the last note until their lungs screamed for air to breathe. No one in the room moved or even breathed loud. All eyes were kept fixed on the two young girls that had sung so beautifully.

"Where did that come from?" Courtney looked at Stephanie with wide eyes. Even she was surprised at how well their voices seemed to blend together.

Stephanie gave her an equally surprised stare. "I have no idea but it kicked butt!"

Elladan and Elrohir looked at one another, shocked. Not once had the girls ever said anything to them about singing.

Elrond smiled and finally managed to speak. "That was incredible. What was that language that you spoke?"

"It was Italian. Did you like it?" Courtney looked at him with wide hopeful eyes.

"I loved it. It was very touching. I've never heard anything like it," Elrond kissed the forehead of each girl.

Stephanie laughed nervously. "Well, I think I've had enough for one night."

Courtney nodded her head. "Same here. That took everything out of me."

"Thank you for gracing us with your beautiful voices my ladies," Lindir bowed to them. Both girls curtsied back and thanked Elrond for the wonderful time.

Elladan grabbed Stephanie's hand. "Come with me."

"Where to?" Stephanie smiled at Courtney. "I will see you tomorrow morning."

Courtney nodded her head and waved. "Have fun!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Unafraid Of You**

**Ch.9 Two Promises Made:**

Smiling, he led her out of the ballroom and through a few hallways to his bedroom. "I have something to give you."

"Why didn't you give it to me earlier?" Stephanie nervously stepped into his room. He closed the door behind her and kissed her passionately.

Elladan pulled away and smiled. "I don't wanted to make this a special moment, our own moment, not one where everyone else is involved. Just you. And just me."

Stephanie, now thoroughly confused, watched him pull a small wooden box out of his pocket. "What's going on?"

"This is something that I hope expresses how I feel about you. I give this to you with all of my heart. It's a promise from me to you," Elladan opened the box and handed it to her. Her face lit up and her eyes widened. Inside, embedded in blue velvet, was a silver mithril necklace, a crescent moon charm dangling on the chain. It had one solitaire diamond in the center.

Hands trembling, she stared at the gift. "It's gorgeous Elladan. I'm speechless!"

Elladan smiled at her. "Take it out of the box and read what it says on the back of the charm."

She gingerly removed the necklace from its bed of velvet and turned it so she could see the back of the charm. There, inscribed in elvish characters was a small endearment:

_I promise to love you, all the days of my life._

_Elladan_

She couldn't help but laugh then throw her arms around his neck, kissing him with all the love she had for him. He kissed her back, eagerly, exploring her mouth and rubbing her back.

Stephanie pulled away and looked back down at the necklace. She clasped it around her neck, smiling brightly at Elladan. It was perfect. "I will never take it off."

"I love you, more than I think you know," Elladan laid his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes that stared back at him nervously.

Stephanie sighed. "This is so new to me."

"I won't hurt you Stephanie. I could never do that. I only want to bring you love, pleasure, and happiness," Elladan kissed her then, silencing anything that she had started to say. As the kiss got bolder, hands started to roam and passion began to rise.

She couldn't think at all. She couldn't process a single complete thought with him kissing her like he was and making her body hot with desire, a feeling that she had never known before.

Elladan laid her on the bed gently and kissed her. "I love you Stephanie. I want you to be only mine. I want to be the only one to make you feel this way."

Despite the rushing of her blood and the fast beating of her heart, Stephanie managed a small smile. "I love you too Elladan, now and forever."

The evening cast its magical glow on the two lovers, caressing their skin and enveloping them in a world of sheer bliss that couldn't be topped by anything else in the world.

"It's so beautiful out here. I don't think I've ever seen the likes of it before," Courtney smiled at Elrohir as he grabbed her hand and held it gently.

Elrohir kissed her hand and continued their walk through the garden. "I thought you might like it here. It was my mother's favorite garden. She always had a love for anything that could grow."

Courtney nodded her head and looked down at her feet. "My mom loved plants too. Every summer she would go above and beyond with the flowers that she planted in the flower beds. She loved them so."

"You say that so sadly," Elrohir watched her sad smile.

"I just miss her. She was always there for me and sometimes I miss that. But don't worry about me. I'll be fine,' She kissed his cheek and focused her gaze at the stars in the distance.

Elrohir lead her to a small patch of grass that was surrounded by rose bushes. "Let's just sit here and relax for a while. I'm quite content with sitting here all night with you."

She blushed then, as he pulled her down next to him on the soft green grass. Courtney smiled as he wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close to his warm body. "Elrohir?"

"Hmm?"

"You aren't playing with me are you?"

Elrohir sat up in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Excuse me? Why would you ask such a thing?"

Courtney felt bad about spoiling the moment, but it had been weighing on her mind all night and she just had to know before she got too attached. "I just want to know that you aren't just fooling around. I've been through it once before and I refuse to go through it again. It broke my heart. I couldn't handle it if you were just leading me on."

"Courtney, look at me," Elrohir lifted her chin until her eyes came in contact with his. "I don't know what he did to break your heart and frighten you so. I don't know where we will be ten years from now. But I can tell you that I won't break your heart. I can tell you that my feelings for you are genuine and run deeper than you know."

She felt a small tear slide down he cheek and his thumb gently brushing it away. "But how can I be so sure?"

Elrohir smiled at her innocence. "Because I can prove my love for you. You'll know it if it's love, trust me."

"How will I know?" Courtney watched as he brought his face closer to hers.

"I will show you, meleth," Elrohir smiled against her lips, and then gently pressed them to hers, in a sweet chaste kiss. Courtney wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in closer, deepening the kiss. A soft warm glow wrapped around them, filling them with love from the inside out.

He pulled away and looked into her blue eyes, searching for anything uncertain. "Well? Now do you believe that I love you?"

Unable to speak what she meant, Courtney just nodded her head and pulled him in for another passion filled kiss. "What was that Elrohir? That light. It was so warm and fulfilling."

"I have only used it one other time. It's a gift that was given to me. Whenever I kiss a maiden, if the light shines and wraps around us, then it's true love. If not, then it wasn't meant to be," Elrohir pulled away and held her hands in his. "Don't you see? We were meant to be with each other. It's fate. There's no turning back now."

"Do you love me Elrohir?" She smiled at him, hoping against all hope that it was true.

Elrohir came in closer to her face once more. "I love you more than you know."

Erestor walked into Lord Elrond's study with a stack of diplomatic papers in his hands. He laid them on the desk then took a good look at his friend. "Elrond?"

"Good morning Erestor," Elrond looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at his counselor.

"You're all smiles this morning. What's going on?" He watched Elrond as he sat back in his chair and continued to smile. Erestor sat down across from his lord and friend.

Elrond propped his feet up on his desk. "I'm hoping to plan a wedding soon."

"What?! A wedding! That's wonderful! Which twin is it?" Erestor was on the edge of his seat. This was great! The twins needed to settle down. After all, Arwen had married Estel and now live in Gondor with him until his dieing day.

He couldn't help but smile broader at the grin on his friends face. "Elladan came to me early this morning asking me about proposing to Stephanie. He wants to wed her this spring and I don't think it'll be too long before Elrohir follows in his brothers' footsteps."

Erestor just stared. "Elrohir is seeing someone? Who? Why didn't I know about this?"

"Relax Erestor. You met Steph's friend Courtney right?"

"Yes, she's very charming, what about her?" Erestor followed Elrond out onto the balcony. It was sunny out and it was a rather pleasant day.

Elrond closed his eyes as the wind played with his hair. He opened them once again and looked at his advisor. "Elrohir has come to me saying that he wishes to eventually marry Courtney sometime this winter. He said he has yet to ask her, but he wanted to give me a heads up as to what was going on. Isn't it great mellon-nin! Two weddings all in one year! It's about time happiness found its way into the hearts of my sons."

Erestor laid a hand on Elrond's shoulder in comfort. "They will always miss her Elrond, as will you. But there is finally happiness here, so let's not ruin it with thoughts of lost loved ones. You will see her again someday Elrond. So live in the here and now, instead of in the past."

"I will Erestor and I thank you for your thoughtful wisdom," Elrond bowed his head then walked back inside. "With the coming of this happy news come the many preparations and invitations to send out."

"This I know. Um, Elrond?"

"Hmm?"

Erestor shifted from his left foot to his right. "There was a letter sent today from Galadriel."

Elrond's head snapped up. "What? When? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"That's what I originally came here for but we got so caught up in the weddings and I couldn't bear to shorten that long lost happiness in you," Erestor looked down at the floor, hating the glare directed at him.

"Next time, please tell me when something important like that arrives okay?" Elrond smiled.

Erestor handed Elrond the letter, bowed, and left the room to leave the Lord of Rivendell to read the letter in peace.

"Courtney! Oh my gosh! Guess what?" Stephanie could barely contain her excitement.

Courtney stared at her friend with a smile. "What? What's got you so bouncy today?"

Stephanie stood up straight and smiled back. "What's different about me?"

"What?" Courtney rolled her eyes. "I really don't want to play a game Steph."

"I'm serious. There's something on me that was never there before. Look real hard," she smiled impishly, her hazel eyes sparkling.

Looking at her friends clothes, she could see nothing out of the ordinary: Jeans, a red camisole with a white fitted sweater over it, and tennis shoes. "I still don't see anything."

Stephanie rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Are you serious? Are you blind or what? Look!" She lifted her chin to the necklace sparkled in the sunlight. "What do you think?"

"Oh my lord Steph! It's gorgeous! Where did you get it?"

"You have got to be the most dense person I know. Where do you think I got it, from a gnome?" Stephanie watched her friend regard her with a sarcastic smile.

Courtney sighed and tried to smile politely. "Elladan gave it to you? What for?"

Stephanie smiled a little nervously. "Well, he gave it to me as a promise. I think he might propose to me eventually Court. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Oh really? That's great Steph. I'm happy for you," She hugged Stephanie briefly and pulled away. "Well, I have to get going. I have to meet Elrohir by the stables. We're going for a ride today."

"Are you sure you're happy for me? You don't seem as happy as I hoped you would be," Stephanie frowned as her friend tried to mask her feelings.

Courtney tried a small laugh. "Don't mind me Steph. I didn't get much sleep last night and I'm just tired."

Stephanie didn't believe it but she smiled and shrugged it off. "If you say so. I'll talk to you later at lunch then?"

"Of course," She smiled at Steph one last time before turning and walking away, small tears falling down her pale pink cheeks.

Stephanie watched her friend go, wondering at her odd behavior. Why wasn't Courtney happier for her? What was she hiding that seemed to upset her so much. Shrugging her shoulders to herself, Steph made her way to her bedroom. She needed to lie down and seriously think about what she did and did not want out of her life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Unafraid Of You**

**Ch.10: Only A Dream**

He had been waiting for her for quite a while now. Where was she? She never took this long before. Just when he was really beginning to worry about her, Elrohir saw Courtney walk out into the stable yard. Something about her weak smile made his heart sink.

"Is there something wrong meleth?"

Courtney pushed all troubled thoughts to the back of her mind and followed Elrohir into the stables to get their horses. "I'm fine Elrohir. Just a little tired."

He knew that she had lied to him, but if she wanted to keep it to herself then he would drop it and wait for her to tell him herself. "I am taking you somewhere special today."

"Really? Where are you taking me?" She smiled bright, this time it was genuine.

"It wouldn't be special if I told you before we got there," he laughed at her and they trotted out of the stables at a leisurely pace. "I hope you like it. No one else knows about it and it's a good place to take someone you love."

Courtney blushed and leaned over to kiss his lips briefly. "You're too sweet for words, you know that?"

He smiled slyly at her. "It's part of my elf-charm."

"Oh give me a break!" Courtney playfully smacked his arm as they rode off into the distance, laughing, and for a moment her dark thoughts fled her.

"It was just weird 'Dan. I've never seen that look in her eyes before. She seemed almost haunted," Stephanie frowned as she took a sip of the wine in her hands. She never thought that she would ever get used to drinking it so often, but it was a simple adjustment for her.

Elladan paced back and forth in deep thought. "She wasn't happy at all for us? Not one bit?"

Stephanie looked up at him and shook her head. "She looked like she wanted to be happy but couldn't. It was strange. I think I need to talk to her. She's hiding something and I don't want to have awkwardness between us now."

"Everything will work out, I promise. Maybe talking is all it will take," Elladan smiled reassuringly at her and hugged her small body close to his bigger stronger one.

"I'm hoping that you're right. Whatever it is that's bothering her is going to bother me until I actually figure out what it is," She pulled away from him and picked up the book that she had been reading earlier, trying to distract her thoughts about Courtney. "I think I'm going to go take a long hot bath and then a nap. Lord knows I need it."

Elladan kissed her deeply and smiled at her. "I will be up to check on you in a while, alright?"

Stephanie nodded her head in his general direction as she ascended the grand staircase to turn left into the corridor where her bedroom and Courtney's bedroom were located. She reached out for the doorknob, but turned around to stare at Courtney's bedroom door. She walked over to it and walked inside. It looked just like her room except it smelled like Courtney, like vanilla and water lilies, while her own room smelled more like oranges and tangerines. There was a bed in one corner, large enough for two people and a nightstand with a picture frame and a book on it. Stephanie walked over to the bed and sat down, picking up the picture from the nightstand. She smiled. It was a picture that she had taken while she and Courtney had gone dress shopping for prom. Stephanie touched the glass of the frame gently before setting it back on the stand. There was a book sitting there. The title caught her eye. _Dream Interpretations: What Do They Mean?_ She gave it a quizzical look before picking it up and opening it to the first page. She skimmed it quickly and put it back. What was Courtney doing with a book like that? Stephanie shrugged her shoulders and took another look around the room. There was a small bookcase that held books of different sizes and thickness.

"You read too much Court," Stephanie kneeled down and quickly skimmed the titles. There was everything from Romance to mystery. She stood back up and noticed a small desk sitting in a far corner of the room that wouldn't be noticeable unless you already knew it was there or really looked for it. There were pieces of parchment and a small bottle of ink sitting on it. "That's the writer in you."

Stephanie took one last breath of the familiar smell that was her best friend and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She hoped that Courtney wouldn't notice someone had been in there while she was gone. Stephanie felt bad, like she had snooped, but she hadn't really found anything and it wasn't like she was _trying _to snoop. She was just curious. The only thing that bothered her was that book on dream interpretations. What was that all about? And was it something that had to do with Courtney's strange reaction to Elladan's engagement to her? Stephanie shook her head and massaged her temples. She could feel a headache coming on and all she wanted right now was to lie down and not have to get up again for a long time.

She squinted up at the sun. It was almost noon and she was supposed to meet Stephanie back at the palace for lunch. She looked up into the face of her dark prince. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even, meaning he had fallen asleep.

Courtney smiled at him and kissed his cheek, then laid her head back on his shoulder. She had done a lot of thinking while out this morning. She had something on her mind, that much was noticeable, even to Elrond. She recalled what had happened earlier that morning before she had seen Stephanie.

_Flashback:_

_"You wanted to see me my lord?"_

_Elrond watched the human girl as she nervously wrung her hands in front of her. "Yes. I wanted to ask you if you are alright."_

_Courtney's head snapped up. "What do you know?"_

_"I know that you aren't getting sleep at night due to a nightmare. I wonder if you might tell me. It might put an end to your nightmare," Elrond hated the frightened look on her face. It didn't fit her personality at all._

_She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "How would you know that? I haven't told anyone about it."_

_He smiled and walked over to her and took her hands in his. "I heard you scream in your sleep one night. I went to check on Stephanie because she hadn't been feeling well and I was taking her a headache tonic to make her feel better. On my way back to my rooms, I heard you scream. I didn't want to barge in there. How would that have looked? And I knew that I wouldn't get anything out of you so I thought I would wait a while before talking to you about it."_

_"I can't hide anything from you. I'm sorry if I scared you. I just can't get it out of my head. I have the same nightmare every night," Courtney felt her hand being tugged and before she knew it she was sitting in a comfortable stuffed chair across from Elrond. "I wish it would go away."_

_"Would you please tell me what it was you dreamed? Maybe I can help you out. I am a healer you know," he smiled at her, trying to soothe her as best he could, considering their current topic of choice._

_Courtney looked down at her hands in her lap. "I know you're a healer of the body," She looked up into his eyes. "But can you heal the mind?"_

_Elrond frowned at the sadness in her eyes. "I will do my best to help you."_

_"Very well. I've been having the same recurring nightmare for about a month now. It starts out with me, Steph, and the twins sitting in the rose garden just below the library balcony. We're all laughing and talking. Then it flashes to another scene where Steph and Elladan are exchanging vows and getting married. They kiss and then the scene changes again. I'm in a dark cave out in the middle of nowhere. I walk through it, following crying and screams of pain. I get to an opening and there is Steph, chained to the wall, being beaten by orcs who taunt her and tell her that she was getting what she deserved for marrying an immortal elf and not a human of her kind. Then it turns around because I scream. The terrifying thing is that it isn't the face of and orc that is laughing at me and coming at me. It's…Elladan," Courtney looked up at Elrond, tear after tear falling down her cheeks. "What does this mean? It scares me so."_

_He didn't quite know what to tell her. It wasn't often that he was at a loss for words. "That is a disturbing dream pen-neth. I think I might have something that can help you though." He stood up and walked over to the large bookcase next to his desk. He pulled a small black book from its shelf and handed it to Courtney._

_Courtney looked at the book and examined the inside cover. "Dream interpretation book? You think this will help me?"_

_"I think that if you can make sense of a dream, then things might be made clearer to you. Try it and let me know if you come up with anything," he kissed her forehead and walked out of the study._

_She sat there a few moments more, skimming the book. She stood up and ran to her bedroom where she sat the book down on her nightstand next to her bed. Remembering that she had to meet Elrohir at the stables, she ran out quickly, anxious to see him and hoping she would avoid seeing Stephanie on her way to see him._

And that was where it had ended. Right then she had bumped into Stephanie and they'd had that awkward meeting. Courtney sighed and sat up. She really had to get back and start that book. Soon enough Stephanie would be asking questions and she would have to be prepared for whatever was thrown her direction.

"Ro? 'Ro you need to wake up love," she kissed his cheek softly then his lips.

Elrohir smiled and pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. "Time to go already meleth?"

She smiled at him. "Yes. I told Steph that I would meet her for lunch. Come on. Get up."

"Alright. Give me a minute," he stretched out and stood up slowly, trying to cause mischief.

"You're not funny," she rolled her eyes at him and began to pack up the blankets that they had laid out. Just then she felt strong arms encircle her waist and begin tickling her mercilessly. She shrieked and laughed with glee as her waist was assaulted with tickling fingers. "Elrohir! Please! Stop!"

He laughed with her, enjoying the moment. "Do you yield meleth-nin?"

She felt her cheeks getting hot from laughing so hard and she really needed to breathe. "Yes! For goodness sake I yield! Now let me go!"

Elrohir held her close and turned her around to bestow another heated kiss to her already kiss-bruised lips. "Come on. I have to get you back before you are at fault for being late."

They mounted their horses and headed back to the palace. "Me at fault? You were the one holding us back!"

Together they laughed and taunted one another the whole way back to the palace.

**Ch 11. Saying It To You**

It was a quiet lunch. Neither girl said much except for a few small things here and there that were of no importance. It wasn't usual for them to be so quiet. But they had their reasons. One of them felt like a snoop and the other felt like a liar.

Stephanie stirred her spoon around in her soup, not sure of what to say or where to start. She had so many things that she wanted to say, but for some odd reason she couldn't get it out of her mouth. What was she waiting for? Courtney was her best friend. She would understand what needed to be said, wouldn't she? Stephanie lifted the spoon to her mouth and blew on the hot broth before putting it in her mouth, the broth running down her throat, warming her from the inside out.

This was bad. Why wasn't she saying what she needed to say? Courtney felt her friends' eyes on her more than once since they had started eating, but it was almost like she was scared to talk to Stephanie. Elrond told her that talking might help the situation, but she was starting to think otherwise really fast. She took a bite of her salad and tried to concentrate on what needed to be said. Finally she laid her fork down, wiped her mouth, and opened her mouth to speak.

"Steph? We need to talk."

Stephanie looked up at her friend like she was clueless. "Really? What about?"

Courtney looked down at her hands then back up at Stephanie. "I don't really know how to tell you. It's kind of complicated really. I just want you to promise that you won't say anything until I have completely finished what I have to say."

"I promise," she nodded her head and listened closely.

Courtney took a deep breath and began to retell her dream to Stephanie the same way that she had told Elrond that morning. The pain and hurt in Stephanie's eyes were almost unbearable, but she needed to know.

"And then he came after me like he was going to hurt me. That's when I wake up screaming and crying. I don't know what it means Steph. I wish I did."

Stephanie nodded her head slowly and took a sip of her ice water. Not really thinking, she blurted out the one thing that she hadn't wanted her friend to find out about. "I bet that's why you have that dream interpretation book in your room, right?" As soon as the last word escaped her mouth, she began to regret it. She covered her mouth with her hand, afraid that something else might escape her lips.

Courtney stared at her friend with an icy cold glare. "You were in my room. Why? What were you doing in there?"

"I was worried about you Court," Stephanie didn't get to finish her thought.

"Worried? You were worried about me so you decided to snoop through my things? That isn't fair Steph," she continued to glare at her friend, and then softened her gaze when she saw how regretful Stephanie looked right then. "I'm sorry Steph. I just don't like people going through my private things."

She wiped a tear from her cheek and tried to smile. "I really was worried about you. It was so unlike you to be so reserved with something so exciting happening to me. Usually you're ecstatic to hear things like that."

Smiling back, Courtney laid her hand on Stephanie's. "Let's make a deal alright? Let's make a deal to promise to tell each other when something important happens. We can't keep hiding things from each other Steph. We need to be honest."

"That sounds like a good deal to me. I agree to it," Stephanie squeezed Courtney's hand and let it go. Just then a funny thought came to her. "Do you remember trying to teach Halethen, the head cook, how to make pizza?"

"Of course! We made such a mess! Why do you ask?" Courtney watched the playful shimmer in Stephanie's eyes.

Stephanie stood up from the table and pulled Courtney along with her down the hallway towards the kitchen. "I want to have a pizza party. We can invite anyone who dares to try our cooking. Sound good?"

Laughing, Courtney nodded her head. "They would have to be brave indeed to try _your_ cooking."

Stephanie playfully slapped her friend in the arm and with sly smiles and the most innocent look they could manage; they walked into the kitchen, hoping against all odds that Halethen would be up to their pizza challenge once again.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch 12: The Pizza Party**

"So what is this stuff called again?"

Courtney laughed and handed a piece of steaming pizza to Legolas, who accepted the food with a slight look of unrest. "Relax Legolas. It's food and you'll like it. I promise."

Legolas shrugged his shoulders and took a small bite of the cheesy, doughy food. Pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted, he took bigger bites and in no time at all had eaten the entire piece.

"You sure can put away food Legolas," Stephanie laughed then, remembering that she herself had already eaten three pieces. "This is better than Kraus's."

"Tell me about it. I never did like Kraus's though," Courtney cut a couple of pieces for the twins, Elrond, Glorfindel, Erestor, and Lindir, then cut a piece for herself.

Courtney looked around the room at the elves that surrounded her. She sat down next to Stephanie and said, "Have you ever thought about how lucky we are?"

Stephanie nodded her head. "Yes. It's good to have people like the twins and Elrond to take care of us."

Both girls examined each elf in the room. First there was Glorfindel. He was tall, as were the other elves, but he was built like a warrior. His body was toned and battle hard and used to any hardship that might befall it. He had long golden blond hair and emerald eyes that often made Courtney and Stephanie feel like they were being read from the inside out. His laugh was deep and booming, but his voice was calm and soothing. He had often read to them before they retired to their beds at night, sending them away with their heads full of timeless romance and noble deeds.

Erestor was more the mysterious type, but was gentle and kind nonetheless. He had an air of dignity and he had a scholarly look. His eyes were the deepest chocolate brown and his hair was black as the midnight sky. He was the one that was easy to talk to. Courtney confided in him the most. Stephanie tended to go to Lindir.

Lindir was the head minstrel of Elrond's home. He was as much an artist at heart as he was with an instrument or a paint brush. His hair was a silvery white color and cascaded down to his lower back. Lindir was always smiling and laughing about something. He often gave the impression that he knew something that you didn't.

Elrond, the lord of Rivendell, had a commanding presence. He was often sought after for his wisdom and broad intellect. He knew the matters of the heart better than anyone and was a healer of the body, as well as the soul. He was tall and dark. His eyes were slate-grey and his hair was a deep mahogany with bits of red shining in it, depending on the light.

The twins…well they knew everything there was to know about the twins. Everything from their dark ebony hair to their playful banter between one another.

And finally, there was Prince Legolas who had stopped by on his way to Gondor to visit with Courtney and to see how she was doing in her new home. He was an archer toned and lithe, with an almost cat like grace. His icy blue eyes could freeze anyone in their place, but could be as warm as the sun itself when talking about his family and loved ones. His hair was golden blond with streaks of silver here and there, making his hair look like a halo around his angelic face.

Courtney looked over at Stephanie after examining everyone. "You know what we need here Steph?"

"Allison?"

"Yes, but we need something else. I wish we had a radio," Courtney sighed and sat back on the couch that she and Steph shared, when a thought came to her. "How do you feel about singing a song again?"

Stephanie turned slowly to face her blue-eyed friend. "You aren't serious are you?"

Courtney nodded her head. "Absolutely serious."

"No."

"Come on! Please?"

"No. Stop asking."

"If we could do it once, in front of a huge crowd mind you, then we could easily do it for these guys," Courtney pleaded with her eyes, knowing that her friend couldn't resist that look.

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Alright! Alright! Stop it with the look."

"I knew you'd come around," She hugged her friend and walked over to Lindir who was talking to Erestor. "Lindir? Can I ask a huge favor of you?"

He turned to look at her and kissed her cheek. "Of course, anything."

She looked back at Steph who looked rather nervous. "Do you remember a couple weeks ago, the song I taught you how to play on your violin?"

"Aye. I remember. I taught it to my students. They learned it quite easily," Lindir smiled at her brightly.

"Is there any way that you could get them in here for a little bit?"

Puzzled, he looked at Erestor who shrugged his shoulders. "I can. Give me a few minutes to assemble them."

Courtney hugged him tight. "Thank you Lindir!"

Erestor shook his head and laughed. "So full of energy and life isn't she?"

Lindir nodded his head. "Yes. They both are. Excuse me. I must go assemble the musicians."

"I will see you later then," Erestor watched Lindir go and then turned to look at he two young human girls, talking and laughing about something unknown to him. It was just enough for him to see them smiling.

Lindir returned a while later, his musicians trailing behind him. They all carried a different instrument with them. There were lutes, harps, violins, drums, tambourines, and bells. Courtney and Stephanie smiled at the many different instruments. This would be a surprise for everyone.

"Are you sure they know how to play it Court?"

Courtney waved her hand in a don't-worry-about-it manner. "I think they have it down pat. They've been practicing for weeks."

Stephanie glared at her. "You've been planning this haven't you, you little sneak."

Smiling with pride, Courtney nodded her head. "Yes, but I thought that it would be fun and it would remind us of home a little. Even you have to miss home sometimes."

"Yeah, I guess I do. Well, let's get this over with before I decide to go lock myself away in my room," She looped her arm through Courtney's and together they walked over to the fireplace. Everyone was seated either in a chair, on the couch, or lounging on the floor with pillows for support. The two girls stood in front of the fireplace where they could easily be seen by everyone.

"So what are you two up to this time?" Glorfindel smiled at them, though his eyes were a little worried.

Elrond nodded his head. "First this pizza party and now what?"

Stephanie smiled at them all. "Well we'd like to sing a song for you guys if you would want us to."

They all looked at each other, surprised that the girls actually volunteered to do this. Usually they had to be forced to sing. Erestor was the first to speak. "You're doing this of your own free will?"

"Yes, but we don't have to. I mean if you guys don't want us to, then we won't," Courtney knew this would reel them in.

"Please, sing us your song. We would love to hear it," Elladan winked at Courtney and blew Stephanie a kiss, making her blush.

Courtney nodded to Lindir to start the music. "This song is called Tell Him."

_**Courtney:**_

_I'm scared. So afraid to show I care. Will he think me weak if I tremble when I speak? Oh, what if there's another one he's thinking of. Maybe he's in love. I'd feel like a fool. Life can be so cruel. I don't know what to do._

_**Stephanie:**_

_I've been there with my heart out in my hand. But what you must understand, you can't let the chance to love him pass you by._

_**Both:**_

_Tell him, tell him that the sun and moon rise in his eyes. Reach out to him and whisper tender words so soft and sweet._

_**Courtney:**_

_I'll hold him close to feel his heart beat._

_**Stephanie:**_

_Love will be the gift you give yourself._

_Touch him with the gentleness you feel inside. Your love can't be denied. The truth will set you free. You'll have what's meant to be. All in time you'll see._

_**Courtney:**_

_I love him. Of that much I can be sure. I don't think I could endure if I let him walk away when I have so much to say._

_**Both:**_

_Tell him, tell him that the sun and moon rise in his eyes. Reach out to him and whisper tender words so soft and sweet._

_**Stephanie:**_

_Hold him close to feel his heart beat._

_**Courtney:**_

_Love will be the gift you give yourself_

_Love is a light that surely grows in the hearts of those who know. It's a steady flame that grows._

_**Stephanie:**_

_Feed the fire with all the passion you can show._

_**Courtney:**_

_Tonight love will assume its place._

_**Stephanie:**_

_This memory, time can not erase._

_**Both:**_

_Your faith will lead love where it has to go._

_Tell him, tell him that the sun and moon rise in his eyes. Reach out to him and whisper, whisper words so soft and sweet._

_**Stephanie:**_

_Hold him close to feel his heart beat._

_**Courtney:**_

_Love will be the gift you give yourself_

_**Both:**_

_Never let him go._

At the end of the song, the girls looked at each other first before scanning their small audience for any sign that they did well. Glorfindel stood up and began to clap, then Erestor and Elrond joined him. The twins stood up as well as the musicians and Lindir. Legolas got up from his chair and kissed each girl chastely on the lips.

"That was beautiful mellyn-nin," Legolas hugged each one and returned to stand next to Elladan.

Courtney beamed from ear to ear. "I told you we would do good. We even got a standing ovation."

"This definitely feels good. Want to do it again sometime?" Stephanie laughed along with everyone else.

Elrohir grabbed Courtney's hand and began to try and get everyone to be quiet for a minute. "Everyone, I have something that I really need to say."

They all stared at him, then looked at one another wondering what was going on. Glorfindel smiled. "What do you have to say pen-neth?"

Elrohir smiled back then turned to face Courtney. "I have wanted to say this for so long and now I feel that with my family and friends here, this is the perfect time for me to ask."

She just stared at him. Not daring to believe what she thought he might be doing. She looked over to Elladan and Stephanie who were smiling brightly at her. "What's going on 'Ro?"

"I love you more than life itself. You know that. I am asking you to share our lives together forever as one, body, heart, and soul. Will you marry me?" He saw the tears spring to her eyes and feared that she might turn him down. Everyone seemed to lean forward a little in anticipation. The silence in the room at that time was almost unbearable.

_Oh Lord help me please. Why am I shaking so bad? _Courtney forced a smile to her face, though it was hard to hold back her shock. "I don't know what to say Elrohir. Wow, okay Courtney, calm down."

Erestor smirked at her uneasiness. "How about you say 'yes' to him so we can all stop holding our breath in anticipation."

Stephanie punched his arm. "Don't rush it. Let her answer in her own time."

"Thanks Steph," Courtney looked back down at Elrohir who hadn't taken his eyes off of her once. "I will."

"You will?" Elrohir couldn't believe his ears. He stood up, still holding her hands. "You'll marry me? Really?"

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Yes Elrohir! I'll marry you." She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the love she had for him.

Everyone applauded the newly engaged couple. Stephanie, unable to hold in her excitement any longer, ran up to her friend and hugged her as tight as she could. After a minute she pulled away, smiling brightly. "Wow Court, marriage. You're getting married!"

"I know. It's exciting. Now we have to plan a huge wedding because I'm not going to sit back and just have a quiet everyday ceremony. You in?" Courtney smiled slyly.

"You know it!" Stephanie high-fived her friend. It was then that they noticed they were being watched. They turned slowly to see everyone staring at them with laughter and mirth in their eyes.

Courtney spoke first. "They probably think we're crazy."

Stephanie nodded her head. "I wouldn't doubt it."

Elrond looked over at Elladan. "Well ion-nin?"

"I know ada. I just wanted Elrohir and Courtney to have the spotlight for a bit," Elladan smiled at his father and walked over to Stephanie, taking her hands in his he looked deeply into her eyes. "Now it is my turn. Stephanie, you are everything to me. You're my life, my soul, me heart…my one true love. I want to confess this not only to you but to everyone here as proof of my love for you. I love you Stephanie. Will you marry me?"

Stephanie felt her breath get caught in her throat. She looked at Courtney with a questioning look, but all Courtney did was smile and shrug like she didn't know this was going to happen. Stephanie looked back at Elladan, her smile widening. "Wow. I'm speechless."

Erestor rolled his eyes and laughed. "Oh for Valar's sake! Why can't you girls just give an answer!"

Giggling, Stephanie brings her face closer to Elladan's. "Yes, I will marry you."

Elladan kisses her lips gently then hugs her close to his body. He looked over Steph's head to see his brother and Courtney doing much the same thing, just holding one another. It was a magical night, and for sure the best pizza party that had ever been given.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ch. 13: Love Under The Stars**

"So what you're trying to tell me is that you want me to ride that thing?" Stephanie couldn't help but laugh at her own statement. "I so wish I had a car right now."

Elladan stared at her. "Car? What's that?"

Stephanie smiled. "I'll explain it to you some other time. It's complicated."

"I see. Well yes, I want you to ride this horse. It 's the only way to travel, unless you would rather walk all the way to Gondor," Elladan smiled at her sarcastic glare.

She stared at the horse, unsure of the beast before her. "I'm really not a horse person." She held out her hand for the horse to smell. It playfully nipped her palm, startling her. "And they obviously don't like me either."

Elladan held out his hand to her to help her into the saddle. "That was a playful nip at your hand Steph. He does that to people he likes. Now come on. 'Ro and Courtney will be here soon and they'll want to leave as soon as possible."

"Quit rushing me. I've never ridden on a horse on my own before. This is a new step for me you know," Stephanie laid her hand in his and allowed him to boost her into the saddle. "It's a good thing I'm wearing a ladies tunic and leggings instead of a dress 'cause oh boy would there be an embarrassing thing to see."

He squeezed her hand. "It's only me and I am soon to be your husband so it wouldn't really be a big deal. Though I should say the tunic and leggings become you. It shows you off."

Stephanie didn't miss the glimmer in his eyes at that statement. She rolled her eyes and watched him mount his own horse. Just then she heard two other voices approaching from behind. One of them belonged to Elrohir and the other could only be her best friend, Courtney. She saw Courtney first and waved to her.

Courtney smiled and spurred her horse forward to greet her friend and her friend's fiancé. "Hey there guys! Ready to go Steph? You look a little uneasy."

"First time on a horse. You know how it goes. Hey, how did you become such a good rider anyways?" Stephanie glared at her friend playfully.

"Unlike you sitting in the palace sewing and gossiping with Arwen, I have been taking riding lessons from Glorfindel and Erestor. Just a tip for future reference," Courtney laughed at the playful punch that was given to her on her arm.

Stephanie couldn't help but laugh. "I'll make a note of that in my head to take riding lessons, though it seems a little late for that now. Come on. The sooner we leave, the sooner we get to Ali."

Courtney nodded her head and for the first time she noticed the twins, happily watching their playful banter between one another. "You two had better not make a habit out of just watching us. It's not polite."

"Really? Well I am deeply sorry to have offended you my lady," Elrohir mocked a dignified voice, and then doubled over with laughter, as did everyone else.

Elladan and Stephanie lead the way out of Rivendell, Courtney and Elrohir following behind, holding hands. It would be a long journey, but at least they had each other for comfort.

They had traveled all day and it was starting to get dark. Elladan had them stop and make camp for the night until they could once again travel in the morning. "Everyone needs to rest up. We'll have to ride all day tomorrow."

Courtney unpacked two wool blankets and a small pillow from her saddle bags attached to her horse. She laid them out on the soft mossy ground beside the fire and laid down, watching the flickering flames. It had been a long day and she was glad for the small comfort of rest for a few hours. Elrohir joined her, spooning behind her and wrapping an arm around her waist, holding her close. He kissed her cheek softly.

"I love you. You know that right?"

Courtney turned to face him. "Of course I do. And I love you to."

Elrohir kissed her mouth deeply. "I don't think I could live without you."

"What's wrong 'Ro? You've been extremely protective. You and Elladan," She reached out and ran her fingers through his soft hair, loving the silky feel of it between her fingers.

"I don't want anything to happen to you while we're out here in the wild. I'm so afraid that orcs will show up out of nowhere and hurt you or Steph, or even my brother. I couldn't live knowing that I wasn't there to keep you safe," he pulled her closer to his body and held her there for quite some time before letting her pull away to look into his eyes.

She smiled, warming him from the inside out. "Nothing is going to happen to us 'Ro. And even if something did happen, Steph and I know enough to defend ourselves."

Elrohir furrowed his brow in question. "You do? How?"

"When you and Elladan are out scouting the borders of Rivendell, Steph and I have been taking swordsmanship lessons from Erestor when he isn't working with Elrond in the library. He told us that we should at least know how to handle a sword and do basic techniques so that we could fend off anything that might attack us until we can get help," Courtney nuzzled under his chin and rested her head on the pillow. "I'll never leave you 'Ro. I love you too much for that."

He smiled and closed his eyes, loving the feel of how perfectly her body fit with his. _This is why love is worth everything in the world _he thought to himself.

Stephanie watched her friend and Elrohir drift off into a blissful sleep. "They are so right for each other aren't they 'Dan?"

Elladan nodded his head and walked over to her. He had been unpacking their pillows and blankets when she had made that comment. He kissed her deeply and laid everything out next to the fire. "Yes. I have never seen my brother so happy. It's like she's the other half of his soul, as you are the other half of mine."

"That was sweet. Thank you," Stephanie turned her gaze back to Courtney who had turned over in her sleep and was now facing Stephanie, a peaceful smile was spread across her lips. "No one deserves it more than you Court."

"Come here. It's time to lay down and take a rest," Elladan held out open arms to her down on the ground. She smiled and curled up next to him, burying her head in the soft folds of his tunic. She could easily hear his heart beating and kissed his chest where his heart would be.

He kissed her forehead and held her close, intent on keeping her safe throughout the night. "I love you."

"I love you too," she yawned and before too long she was asleep in his arms.

Elladan smiled down on her and held her tight. "I will watch over your sleep meleth-nin. I will guard your dreams for eternity."

**Ch:14 Reunited**

"My lady, there are four visitors that have arrived and request to see you," The young servant girl hated to see such a sad expression on such a pretty face. "They await you in the throne room. King Elessar is greeting them as we speak."

She had been sitting in the same corner for months. She took her meals there. She slept there. She didn't want to be anywhere else. She didn't really even believe that she was here. It was so unreal and there was no way that this could be real. This had to be some kind of freak dream or something like that. She had a life back home to get to. At the rate things were going, she would never get home.

Allison looked up at the girl and nodded her head. "Thanks Sari. I need to take a walk anyways. I'll bet here in a minute."

Sari curtsied and closed the door behind her when she left the room. Allison sighed heavily and changed into a comfortable tunic and leggings. She put on a pair of soft doeskin boots and brushed out her hair. When she thought she looked presentable, she opened her bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway for the first time in months.

Estel smiled at his foster brothers and their lady companions. "It is great to see you and I welcome you to Gondor. Our doors are always open to you."

Courtney curtsied. "Thank you my lord for your kind words, I appreciate them, but I would like to see for myself if Allison is really here."

He smiled at her anxious face. "I have sent for her my lady. And please, call me Estel."

"Then you can just call me Courtney or Court, whichever works," Estel laughed at her funny way of saying things. These two girls were not of their world and it was clear in the way they spoke and acted. But it was refreshing to have someone around who was carefree and unafraid of being who they are.

Just then the young servant girl entered the throne room, another blond girl following behind. Unable to contain themselves, Courtney and Stephanie raced to their friend and buried her in hugs and kisses.

Allison couldn't believe that this was happening. Here she was, miserable as ever, and her two best friends appear out of nowhere? This was cool. The three girls hugged and kissed and exchanged excited words and questions.

The twins and Estel just stood a ways away, just giving the girls enough room to reunite with one another.

"Oh my god Allison! It's you! It's really you!" Courtney once again flung her arms around her friend that she thought she had lost forever. Tears of joy fell down her cheeks.

Allison smiled at her and wiped them away. "So this isn't some crazy psycho dream that I'm having? This is real?"

Stephanie nodded her head and took her fair share of a second round of hugs. "Yep. We're really here in Middle-Earth."

"I didn't want to believe it Steph. I mean, I never really got into that whole 'Lord of the Rings' thing with you and Court," Allison frowned and looked down at her feet.

Courtney shared sympathetic glances with Stephanie, and then looked at Allison. "Everything is fine Al. We're all three together again and we'll make the most of our new lives, okay?"

She looked up at her two best friends. It wasn't going to be easy trying to fit in with the elves and she had been told this by Estel. She hated that she would have to leave humans, but she could give the elves a try. After all, Stephanie and Courtney seemed to be getting along just fine with the ethereal beings. Allison forced a smile to her face and for the first time in months the smile seemed to reach her bright blue eyes.

Elladan, Elrohir, and Estel watched everything from a distance, smiling as the friends began an animated conversation. Elladan could swear that he heard the word pizza come out of Stephanie's mouth. He looked at Elrohir who smiled in understanding. They had done nothing but live off of berries and lembas bread since they'd left Rivendell. The girls deserved a treat for what they'd endured on the road to Gondor.

Estel raised an eyebrow at the strange word of pizza that Stephanie had said. "May I ask what this 'pizza' is?"

The girls looked at each other and grinned. Courtney looked at the twins then back to Estel. "I think it's time we show the cooks how to make pizza."

"If the elves can learn how to make it so can the humans," Stephanie laughed at Estel's confused expression.

Allison laughed along with her. "Come on Estel. You haven't lived until you've had some form of pizza."

"I'll second that!" Courtney raised her hand in the air.

"I'm right behind you on it!" Stephanie and the other two girls ran out of the throne room, making a bee line to the kitchens, stomachs growling.

"I don't think I've ever had something so delicious," Estel smiled as he tried to pick up the stringy, cheesy mess that the girls had called 'pizza'. "It's also the messiest thing I've ever eaten."

Courtney wiped her mouth and took a sip of the apple cider that she had been served. "I have been craving normal food since we left Rivendell."

Stephanie nodded in agreement. "Same here. You know what I could really go for?"

"What?" Allison popped the last small bite of pizza into her mouth and wiped her mouth with her napkin that rested in her lap.

"A Big Mac and a large fry from McDonald's," Stephanie watched the dreamy expressions on her friends faces.

"That was an evil thing to say. Now I want it and can't have it," Courtney playfully hit her friend with her napkin, making Stephanie laugh.

Elrohir smiled at their banter. "What's this 'big mac' that you speak of?"

Allison stood up and piled their plates up and sat them on the edge of the table for a servant to pick up. "It's a sandwich type thing. It's hard to explain. Maybe we can make them sometime for you. Or at least attempt it."

Courtney laughed. "Do you even know how to cook Al?"

"Does cooking Ramen noodles count as real cooking?"

"No."

Allison laughed. "Then no, I can't really cook."

Stephanie joined in. "We wouldn't want you burning down the kitchen trying to cook the hamburger."

Everyone laughed except Allison who tried to pretend to be offended. "I am hurt Steph. I can't believe you said that!"

"Oh stop it Ali! You know I was kidding!" Stephanie stood up and curtsied to Estel. "I think I'm going to turn in for the night. I'm feeling kind of sleepy."

"Me too. I can't wait to sleep in a real bed tonight," Courtney stood up and stretched out her arms. "Goodnight guys." She walked over to Elrohir and kissed him deeply.

Elrohir smiled, feeling a little dizzy after her kiss. "Sleep sweet uthaes-nin."

"I will cormamin. Goodnight."

Stephanie kissed Elladan, much in the same way Courtney had kissed Elrohir. "I will see you tomorrow morning. I love you."

"I love you more. Goodnight," Elladan smiled at her, squeezed her hand, and let her go catch up to her friends.

Allison had watched all of this with fascination. She had no idea that her friends were romantically involved with elves. She was happy to see that they had finally started to build new lives, but she also felt left behind, like she had been absent from school for a week and had a week's worth of work to catch up on. She followed them out of the dining hall, not saying a word about what she had seen. She figured she'd let them say something first. After all, it was their lives.

A couple weeks had passed and the girls and the twins were anxious to get back to Rivendell. Estel joined them in the courtyard to bid them a fond farewell. It had been an interesting week with the three young girls and it was refreshing to have had them around for a short while.

Courtney walked up to him and hugged him. "Thank you for everything Estel. You're a wonderful host."

"Thank you Lady Courtney. When you get home, tell Arwen that I am anxious for her to return to me," Estel smiled sadly at the mention of his wife.

"I will tell her. I promise," Courtney smiled at him one last time and stepped aside so that Stephanie could hug him.

"It was wonderful to finally see Gondor. I think it's beautiful," Stephanie could see that this pleased Estel.

Estel kissed her cheek. "Thank you Lady Stephanie. I hope you will come back some time."

Stephanie nodded her head. "We'll come back."

Then it was Allison's turn. This was a bittersweet goodbye for her. She had liked it here, but her place was with Stephanie and Courtney, no matter where they were. "I don't think you know how thankful I am that you have put up with me all this time. I know that I was a trial at times, but I do appreciate you taking me in until my friends came."

Estel hugged her tight to his body. "You were no trouble at all. I would have done the same thing were I in your shoes. You did nothing wrong. Please come back soon."

Allison smiled, a small tear falling down her cheek. "I will. I don't think I could stay away for too long."

The twins and Estel said their goodbyes, then everyone mounted their horses for the long journey home. Elladan nodded his head at Estel. "Keep safe. We will send Arwen to you as soon as we can Estel."

"I thank you my brothers. Have a safe trip!" He waved at them as they galloped out of the courtyard and into the rising sun.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ch 15:Homecoming**

The smell of fresh parchment and ink filled his nose as he walked into the large spacious room that was Elrond's private study. It was always so regal looking and clean. Every piece of parchment had its place in a pile on Elrond's desk and awaited him to sign them or read them.

Erestor smiled and breathed in the comforting smell. There was nothing like a nice quiet afternoon with nothing to do but read a good book, which is exactly what Erestor had planned on doing. He would have read in the library, but it was stuffy in there and even though you were supposed to be quiet in there, someone was always talking and breaking his concentration. So here he was in his best friend's personal study. He curled up on the couch and opened his book to where he had last left off. It was one of those rare days that he had all to himself.

Elrond shook his head. "You win mellon-nin. I can not best you at this game."

"I told you that earlier and you were quite adamant to change that fact," the golden-haired warrior smiled at his friend. "You are an excellent challenger though. One of the best."

"Don't think that this is the last game of chess between us. I challenge you to a rematch the next time I have a free day. Are you up to it?" Elrond shot his friend a playful glance.

Glorfindel matched his friends expression with a wider smile. "I accept and I don't want you sulking around for a week because you lost to me once again. It isn't very lord-like."

Elrond rolled his eyes and walked out of Glorfindel's room with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I don't think that I have ever been so happy to be home," Elladan reached over to Stephanie to hold her hand. "Are you glad to be back meleth?"

She nodded her head, yawning. "I'm tired. The sooner we get home the sooner I can crawl in bed and go to sleep."

Courtney and Allison looked at each other smiling. "I'll give her ten minutes after we get there before she's passed out on a couch somewhere. She sleeps like the dead when she wants to."

"I know it. I'm really not all that sleepy just yet. I have to talk to Elrond and get some things straightened out," Allison looked away from Courtney to the large valley ahead where the city of Rivendell was nestled in the crook of the Misty Mountains. It looked so peaceful and less busy than Gondor.

"You'll be fine Al. Steph and I managed and so will you. You just need to relax and let things come to you as they will," Courtney watched a small sad smile come to Allison's face.

Elrohir noticed the concern on Courtney's face for her friend and kissed her cheek. "Is everything okay anor-nin?"

"I hope so. I'm just worried about her. She has a way of not letting things go. I bet she misses Tim," Courtney looked up into his eyes. They were so warm and caring. "I want her to be happy, not grieve for what she no longer has."

"I know Courtney, I know. She'll come around. She just needs some time to adjust," He offered her a warm smile. "Things will get better."

Courtney stared straight ahead at the place that had so fast become her new home. "I hope that you are right 'Ro. I really do."

Elrond, Erestor, and Glorfindel stood outside of the Last Homely House and awaited the twins and the girls to arrive. It wasn't long until they could make out the figures of the twins, followed by three girls.

Elrond felt his heart lift at the sight of them. He didn't quite know what it was about them that made him feel so free, but it was very enjoyable.

Elladan and Elrohir reached the steps to the palace and dismounted, the girls followed suit. "Ada! It's good to see you!"

"I have missed you my son," He caught his eldest son in his arms and held him tight. He pulled away to hug Elrohir as well. "It is wonderful to have you all back. You have been sorely missed."

It was then that Glorfindel noticed Courtney and Stephanie standing at a distance, patiently waiting for their turn to greet Elrond. He waved them forward and they gladly ran over to him, hugging him tight.

Courtney kissed his cheek. "We have missed you so."

He smiled back at her. "I have missed you two and your banter. I have to admit that I miss the pizza too."

Stephanie laughed and rolled her eyes. "I think we've created a monster Court. He's obsessed with pizza now. What were we thinking?"

"Any one who tasted pizza for the first time would be obsessed with it Steph. It's understandable," Courtney laughed then remembered that they had left Allison standing by the horses all by herself. She ran over to Allison and grabbed her hand, dragging her up to Glorfindel. "This is our friend Allison that we have been talking non-stop about."

Glorfindel smiled coyly at Allison and kissed her hand softly. "Welcome to Rivendell my lady. I am Glorfindel."

"Just call me Allison please. Thank you for welcoming me. I have to admit that this will take some getting used to," She blushed when he winked at her.

Elrond watched this display with interest. "I am Lord Elrond and this is my Chief Advisor Erestor." He waved his hand in front of Erestor, introducing him.

Erestor bowed to her and kissed her hand, like Glorfindel had done. "It is a pleasure to meet you Allison. Welcome to Rivendell. I hope you'll like it here."

"I'm sure that I will," she was beginning to like it here, especially now that she had met Glorfindel. He seemed nice enough to her. Maybe she could have an actual conversation with him another time.

Courtney and Stephanie grabbed Allison's arms and started to drag her into the palace to get her settled in.

"Wait, why are we leaving the really hot elf guys?" Allison laughed at their shocked expressions. "What? You guys know how I am around really cute guys."

Stephanie shook her head. "Only you, Allison. Only you."

"So you think Glorfindel is cute?" Courtney smiled inwardly, liking that her and Stephanie's plan was working already. On their way home from Gondor, while Allison was sleeping, she and Stephanie had talked about hooking Allison up with Glorfindel. It was a good match and he already seemed to like her. Things were going smoothly.

"Cute just isn't the word Court. It's more like…amazingly hot!" Allison realized at that moment how happy she was to be with her friends again. It was like old times, even though they weren't in their own world anymore. She felt like she was slowly becoming herself again.

Leading Allison to a room close to hers and Courtney's, Stephanie giggled. "You think that anything male with two legs is hot Ali. But I'm glad that you like Glorfindel. He's a genuine guy and I think that he already likes you."

This last statement made Allison blush a deep shade of red. "It's too early to be thinking about me and him hooking up Steph, so don't you or you," she pointed at Courtney, "try to do anything stupid."

"Who, us? Never!" Courtney opened the bedroom door and ushered Allison in. "There's a hot bath that has already been prepared for you and I gave you one of my dresses to wear to dinner tonight since you don't have any of your own just yet. We'll come get you when it's time to go eat. Sound good?"

Allison nodded her head and took a look around her room. She was only vaguely aware of Stephanie and Courtney leaving her to herself to settle in. She flopped down on the bed, sinking into its softness. It felt so good to lay her head on something soft after that two week long journey here to Rivendell. She sat up and grabbed the fluffy white towel that had been sitting by her bed. She quickly undressed, wrapped the towel around her body and walked into the bathroom. Allison inhaled the aroma of sandalwood and patchouli oil that drifted around the room. She guessed it had come from the bath oils in the bath tub. She unwrapped the towel and gingerly stepped into the hot water, letting her body adjust to the heat. Once she was used to it, she sank into the water, closing her eyes in bliss, glad to be rid of the dirt and grime from the journey. She laid there for a while, thinking about nothing in particular, and then she washed her hair and body with the honeysuckle soap that was next to the tub. After that, she crawled out and went back into the main bedroom to look at the gown that Courtney had left her. It was a pale baby blue color. It had a low v-neckline and the sleeves were long and bell-shaped. It was a soft almost cotton-like material and she couldn't wait to put it on.

"Steph? Are you decent?"

Stephanie grabbed the towel from her bed and quickly wrapped herself in it. "Yeah, do you need something?"

"I just wanted to talk about Allison while we have a little time to do so," Courtney opened the door slowly and there was her friend, hair dripping wet and a towel tied loosely around her body. "Do you want me to wait out in the hall until you're dressed?"

"I'd appreciate that!" Stephanie threw a pillow at her laughing friend. When she was sure that Courtney was out in the hallway, she grabbed a pair of comfy sleep pants and a T-shirt that she had managed to get the seamstress to make, and sat down on her bed, drying her hair with a towel. "You can come back in now."

Courtney stepped into the bedroom again and plopped down next to her friend on the bed. "You just got out of the tub too? What did it smell like?"

Stephanie looked at her friend like she had grown two heads. "Why?"

"Allison said hers smelled like sandalwood and patchouli. Mine smelled like strawberries and Vanilla. I just wondered what yours smelled like," Courtney grabbed the towel that was draped across her neck, stood up, and started to scrunch her hair.

"Mine smelled like cinnamon apples. It was amazing! I don't think I've ever enjoyed a bath so much in my life!" They both laughed and carried on, talking about gossip they'd heard around the palace that day and about Stephanie's upcoming wedding.

Courtney smiled at her friend. "What about Allison?"

Stephanie matched the smile. "I think that things are going well, for her first day here. Compared to my first day, she's doing okay."

"Do you think she misses Tim?"

Tim. That was a name that she thought she'd never hear. Stephanie walked over to her vanity and began to brush out her hair. "I wouldn't doubt it, but she really needs to let him go. She's not going to see him again."

"I know. I just wonder if maybe that's what's causing her to be so, I don't know, depressed," Courtney put her towel around her neck and headed for the door. "I hope Glorfindel can distract her and teach her to move on. She really needs to Steph."

Stephanie nodded her head. "I know Court. But she won't move on unless she finds it within herself to do so. We can't make her move on. It doesn't work that way."

Courtney nodded in agreement and walked out of Stephanie's room, head hung low in defeat.

"What is taking her so long?" Courtney looked at Stephanie.

She shrugged her shoulders and knocked on the door again "Come on Ali! We're gonna be late!" Stephanie shook her head and watched Courtney roll her eyes.

Allison hurriedly slipped on the silver slippers by the bed and swung open the door. "Alright! Alright! I'm here! Don't have a cow."

Courtney stared at her. "You were in there getting ready long before we even started to get ready and we were done before you. You take too long."

The three girls headed off towards the dining hall together, occasionally seeing a face that they recognized. When they reached the doors to the dining room, Allison suddenly felt her appetite begin to die off. "I don't know if I can do this guys. I don't know any one in there."

"Yes you do. You know Elrond, Erestor, Glorfindel, and the twins. Believe me, that's all you'll need to know for now," Stephanie pushed her friend to the front. "You go first since you're the new one."

"Oh thank you so much for the honor," Allison remarked in a sarcastic tone of voice.

Courtney smiled at her. "No problem. We knew you'd appreciate it. Now go!"

Allison slowly opened the doors to the dining hall. Immediately, every pair of eyes were on her. It was majorly overwhelming, but she could handle it.

Seeing her uneasiness, Glorfindel stood up from the table and walked over to the three girls, smiling at Courtney and Stephanie as they walked away to join the twins at the table.

Allison curtsied, just like how Steph and Courtney showed her how to do. "Good evening my lord." She kept her head bowed low, too nervous to look at him.

Gently he lifted her chin and flashed her a brilliant smile. "I am just Glorfindel. May I escort you to the table? You may sit next to me if you wish to."

She softly laid her hand in his upturned palm. Allison felt like she was being swept away so suddenly. They reached the table and he pulled out a chair for her right next to his seat. When she as seated, he sat down as well and regular conversation was resumed as the dinner was served. Courtney and Stephanie winked at each other in satisfaction. Yes, everything was working out perfectly.

"I don't think I'll ever get this. It's too hard," Allison sat back against the couch and sighed heavily. "I could just kill Court and Steph for this."

Erestor smiled at her agitated state. "It's not as hard as you're making it sound and they want you to learn so that things are a little easier for you. They only care for you."

She scowled and sat forward again. She appreciated that Courtney and Stephanie cared so much for her, but making her learn the elvish language was just going too far. "I'm just not so good at learning languages. I took Spanish in high school and that was about it. I barely passed it! So how do they expect me to master this one?"

"It's not any different than learning another language Al. Just relax and let me help you," Erestor held out the book in front of them and had her read out what was written. _She's really going to flip when she finds out that they want her to be able to __write __elvish too._ He grimaced at that thought, then returned his attention to Allison, who was once again pronouncing most of the words the wrong way.

Courtney put on her jeans that she hadn't worn in a long time and the comfy T-shirt that she had worn when she first arrived in Middle Earth. She was planning on going to the market today to look at the fabric for Stephanie's brides' maids' gowns as well as fabric for her own bridesmaids gowns. Both weddings were fast approaching and there was so much to do before then.

She grabbed the small purse that Elrond had given her with money in it and tucked it into her pocket. She slipped on her tennis shoes and walked out of her bedroom and headed for Elrohir's room in the next hall over. When she got there, she was surprised to see the door hanging open. _That's odd. He usually keeps his door closed. Oh well. _She knocked lightly on the door to let him know she was there, just in case he was just getting out of the tub or something.

Elrohir stood in his bathroom with a blue towel wrapped around his waist. He was cleaning his teeth when he heard someone knock on his door. "Just a minute! I'll be right there!" He completely forgot that he had nothing on but a towel when he saw Courtney standing in the doorway.

She wouldn't deny that she liked what she saw. Perfectly toned muscles and softly tanned skin greeted her eyes. There were small water droplets here and there and his hair was wet and stuck to the sides of his face. Courtney quickly averted her eyes to the tiled floor, remembering that it was rude to stare, her cheeks flushing red.

He smiled at her modestness, though he couldn't help but know that she had liked what she'd seen. "It's alright. There's really nothing showing that you should be embarrassed of." When she refused to look up, he walked over to her and lifted her chin.

"I didn't mean to interrupt. Your door was open so I thought it was okay. I didn't know that you were," she looked him up and down, "Bathing."

"It's alright. Let me go get dressed and we can talk, okay?"

Courtney nodded and watched him go back into his bathroom. While she was waiting she decided to make herself comfortable. So she climbed up onto his bed and laid down. His bed was soft like hers was, but it had his warm pine scent on it. She closed her eyes and enjoyed being comfortable, it was almost enough to make her forget about her plans for the day.

"Enjoying yourself?"

She sat straight up and looked toward the bathroom door at a smirking Elrohir. "I was just laying down."

He joined her on the bed and held her hands. "Was there something that you wanted to talk about?"

"Kind of. I wanted to ask you if you'd come with me to the market. I have to get a fabric for brides' maids' dresses and I don't know my way around out there," Courtney watched his smile spread from ear to ear.

"I will join you. I get to show you off to my friends this way," He leaned in and kissed her slightly pouting lips deeply, exploring her sweet mouth.

Breathless, Courtney smiled at him. "Show me off? I'm not a prize cow at a fair you know."

Elrohir laughed heartily at that statement. "This I know. You are much prettier than a cow."

"Thank you so much for that," She replied sarcastically. "We need to go now if we want to be back before lunch."

"I think we'll skip lunch at the palace today. I'll buy you lunch at the finest café in town. How does that sound?" He hoped that this would please her. It was also a chance for him to create the one moment in her life that she would never forget.

She smiled at him. "That sounds wonderful. So we have time for a nap before we go?"

He laughed and pulled the bed sheets down, then once they were settled in, he covered their bodies and spooned behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist, the other one playing with her hair. "Comfortable meleth?"

Courtney brought his hand from around her waist and kissed it, then replaced it where it had been. "Very comfortable."

They both drifted off to sleep, warm and alive in each other's arms.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ch 16: Birthday Surprise**

Stephanie walked with Courtney and Elrohir to their horses. "Remember, no pink."

"Yeah yeah yeah! I know. How do you feel about blue?" Courtney put her small purse of money in her horses saddle bags and turned back to face Stephanie once more.

"I don't really care as long as pink is non existent!" Stephanie heard Elrohir laugh and turned to him. "What's so funny?"

He automatically stopped laughing, but his smile still lingered. "I just find it funny that a few dresses are so much trouble."

Courtney smiled at him. "You try being a bride and having all this stuff to do. Steph and I both still have to write out formal invitations to your friends as well as Elladans friends in Mirkwood and Lothlorien. we have to make up a menu for both receptions after the ceremonies and we both have yet to find our wedding dresses!"

"Court, relax. I'll help you. I've told you that a million times. As for you Steph, we'll be back before dinner okay? Go read a book or do something to soothe your nerves."

Courtney mounted her horse and winked at Stephanie. "I have the brides' maids' dresses under control okay?"

"Alright. Be careful," She watched them ride off towards the large market a few miles from the palace. It was good to know that she had Courtney around to keep somewhat sane.

"Steph! There you are!"

Stephanie looked up to see Allison running right at her. "Hey Ali. What's up?"

Allison stopped to catch her breath. "Erestor's cat had her kittens! Come see!"

"Marla had her kittens? Lead the way!"

They took off and weaved in and out of the corridors and hallways until they finally reached Erestor's bedroom. Erestor was sitting on his bed watching the mama cat clean and feed her newborn kittens. He looked up as they walked in. "I see you found Steph but where is Courtney?"

Stephanie kneeled down to look at the small kittens. "She and Elrohir went to the market looking for fabric. I think she said something about lunch with him at a café in town too."

"We'll just have to show her when she gets back then," He stood up and kneeled down across from Stephanie. "Aren't they special? So tiny and completely unaware of the world around them."

"They remind me of my cat Seby back in my world. I love cats," Stephanie gently stroked the mother cat's head. Marla purred at the friendly gesture, then laid her head down to sleep.

Allison knelt next to Stephanie. "Erestor has agreed to give us each a kitten of our own. You, me, and Courtney only."

Stephanie looked up at Erestor. His eyes were shining. "Really?"

"Of course. Allison has told me that you and Courtney adore cats. I offered for her to take one too, but she said she's allergic and that you and Courtney could take care of hers," He smiled as Stephanie's face brightened.

"When can they leave their mama?"

Erestor thought for a minute. "About seven weeks, I would think. You three can come and pick out your kittens then. That would leave me two kittens once you girls have taken the ones you want."

Just then a thought came to Allison. "I have an idea."

"What?" Stephanie looked at Erestor who shrugged his shoulders.

"Courtney's birthday is coming up in about a month, whenever the 18th is."

Stephanie sat back against the bed, her knees hurting her from kneeling for so long. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Allison smiled. "Don't tell her about these kittens. She doesn't even know that Marla was expecting them. Have Elrohir give her one for her birthday. She'll love it!"

Erestor laughed. "That is some idea, but I like it. How will we keep them from her though?"

"Keep them in here. She never comes in here does she?" Allison looked down at the feel of a soft paw on her thigh. She kissed Marla's head and looked back up at Erestor.

Stephanie watched the small kittens drink milk from their mother. "No, she doesn't. How will we get to Elrohir though. She's with him all the time and he never wants to leave her side. For goodness' sake, they even take naps together!"

They all laughed, enjoying the joke at Courtney's expense. Erestor stood up, as did the girls. He smiled at them and lead them out of the room. "There is only one time in the day when they aren't together."

Allison and Stephanie looked at each other. "When?"

"Elrohir has sword practice with Elladan every morning before any one else is up. I'll just head down there tomorrow morning and tell him about it. Sound good?"

The girls nodded their heads. They kissed Erestor's cheek and said goodbye. They had a birthday party to plan. It wasn't every day that someone turned eighteen.

**Ch 17: The Market**

"I don't think i've ever seen so many different colors of fabric. This is amazing!" She walked around the many aisles of fabric, touching each one, feeling it. She stopped at a bluish-purple color and held it out so that she could see it in the light. Courtney ran her fingers up and down the fabric. It was softer than silk.

Elrohir smiled at her and kissed her cheek. "This is the best fabric store in all of Rivendell. Name the color and I bet they have it."

Courtney continued to walk along the fabrics, stopping here and there to look at a blue or purple color that caught her eye. "This is hard. I can't make a decision."

The owner of the shop walked over to them and smiled. "May I offer my assistance?"

"I would be glad to have it. I can't seem to pick a color that I like. There are so many beautiful colors," She smiled at the owner and looked back at the fabric in her hands. It was dark blue and shimmered from dark blue to silver.

"My name is Izalia. I'll help you as best I can," she walked Courtney and Elrohir down a long aisle until they reached a rack of fabric that ranged from very dark blue to the palest blue that could exist. Courtney stared down the long row of fabrics, mouth hung open.

Elrohir laughed at her expression. "I have something that I have to go do real quick meleth. You pick something out and I'll be back before you can miss me."

Courtney nodded her head. "Don't be too long. I'm determined to get this done and over with." She kissed his lips and watched him go out the door and down the street, not giving a thought to where he might be going.

"Well now, I suspect that blue is the color you're looking for?" Izalia walked down the row of blue and stopped at a deep bluish-green color. "How about this? It would make your eyes stand out."

"I like that a lot but there are six other girls that are going to be wearing the same color and I want it to look good on them as well," she watched Izalia walk a little further down and she stopped again at a cornflower blue fabric.

Izalia took it off the rack and held it up to Courtney. "This is a popular color with brides' maids' dresses. Do you like this one?"

Courtney didn't like it at all. It was too plain, but she couldn't say that to Izalia and hurt her feelings. "I need something a little bit more like spring. You know what I mean? Something that fits the season."

The shop owner smiled at her brightly. "I have just the thing you're looking for. Hold on one moment while I go get it out of the back. I only sell it on special occasions. I'll be right back."

"Alright, I'll just look around until you return," she watched Izalia hurry off. She made her way to the rack of purple colors and walked among them, pulling out a certain color here and there while waiting for Izalia to get back.

In just a few short moments, Izalia appeared from the back of the store with an armful of fabric. Not just any fabric, it was the perfect color blue. It shimmered from blue to silver to a light purple color. It was softer than silk and it caught the sunlight just right.

Courtney looked up at Izalia in wonder. "This is perfect. Oh wow! Steph isn't going to believe this!"

"I am glad that it is to your liking. Shall I sell it to you?" Izalia watched the young girl hold the fabric in her hands. It almost ran through her hands like water.

"Yes, I'll take it. I'll need enough for seven girls please," She followed Izalia to a small table where the fabric was gut to just the right amount. Courtney paid the kind lady elf. "You've been such a big help today. Hanon lle Izalia."

Izalia simply smiled at her and waved goodbye as the young human ran out of her shop, the fabric under her arm, and a smile on her face.

**Ch 18: Café Lunch**

Elrohir ushered Courtney into the small café and they took a seat at a small table for two in front of a large window that overlooked the Bruinen River.

He smiled at her and held her hand. "It's a beautiful view isn't it?"

Courtney smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, but I like the view of it from your room better."

"You do? How come?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I guess it's because I can see the entire river, not just a small part of it. I like seeing the whole thing. It has a more lasting effect of wonder for me."

Elrohir chuckled and nodded in agreement with her. "You are right meleth-nin. But I wanted to ask you how things went at the fabric shop. Did Izalia help you to find anything interesting?"

"She was wonderful. She brought out this beautiful fabric from the back of the store that she doesn't usually sell to her customers unless it's a special occasion," She brought a corner of the material out of the small bag that it had been placed in to show Elrohir. "I think it's perfect."

He ran his finger over the fabric, surprised at its satin texture. "This is one of a kind material. I'm sure it will look beautiful on you."

Courtney kissed his cheek and wiped the small amount of lip gloss from it that her lips had left behind. The waiter walked up to them and flashed Courtney a charming smile.

"May I start you off with some drinks my lady?"

"I just want a glass of water with lemon please," she smiled back and folded the fabric back into the bag and put it beside her chair out of the way.

The waiter wrote down her drink order and asked Elrohir the same question.

Elrohir didn't like how that waiter was looking at Courtney but decided to ignore it for the time being. "I'll have iced tea with lemon." The waiter looked at Elrohir coolly and nodded his head, then turned away and went to fetch their drinks.

"Meleth? Are you alright?" Courtney stared into his grey eyes that suddenly seemed so angry. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't like how he looked at you," he returned her gaze and leaned in close to her.

Courtney blushed, but kept her eyes locked with his. "There's no need to be jealous. He can look all he wants but I'm already taken."

He smiled at this. "I don't want to lose you. You're mine and I don't plan on sharing you with the rest of the male population."

"I know that 'Ro. But you have got to learn that there is no one else around that could possibly take me from you," she looked down at his lips then back to his eyes.

Elrohir noticed that the waiter was headed for their table, drinks in hand. He smiled wickedly. "Want to mess with this guy?"

Courtney smiled. "You have but to ask."

He kissed her then, deeply, exploring her mouth and making sure that it was a noticeable make-out for the waiter to see. Courtney had never been kissed like this before by Elrohir. His kisses were usually slow and relaxing. This one was heated and fierce. They finally broke apart at the sound of the waiter clearing his throat. He had an annoyed look on his face when they looked up at them.

He sat their drinks on the table. "Would you be requiring something to eat as well?"

Elrohir looked at Courtney who could barely contain her laughter. "No, this will be fine for now."

The waiter nodded and stalked off, obviously annoyed.

"That was fun. Did you see his face?" Courtney took a long gulp of the crystal clear liquid.

"That should teach him a lesson or two," Elrohir smiled at her and drank his iced tea. He sat his glass down and with a trembling hand, fumbled in his pocket for a small velvet box. "Courtney? I have something for you."

"You do? What is it?" Courtney looked at him, curious. "You didn't have to buy me anything you know."

He smiled at her and kissed her mouth. "That's what I love about you. You don't place a lot of faith in finery. You like the simple things and that's a good trait to have."

She watched as he pulled a small box out of his pocket and sit it in front of her. "What is it?"

"Well you have to open it to find out. That's the whole point of boxes you know," He laughed at her playful glare. "Go on, open it now."

"Alright," Courtney gingerly picked up the box, feeling the soft texture with her fingertips. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it would rip right out of her chest. She took a deep breath and opened the box slowly, though the anticipation was killing her. She gasped at what was inside. A small necklace lay nestled in a bed of velvet. Courtney pulled it out of the slot carefully to get a better look at it. The charm was a butterfly made of small pink and white diamonds and the chain was of the finest mithril metal. It was light and delicate. She'd never seen anything like it. "Oh wow Elrohir."

He smiled nervously. "Do you like it?"

Courtney could barely talk she was so enthralled with it. "It's gorgeous. What for?"

"To show you how much I love you. I picked the butterfly because that's what I think of when I think of you. You're always wanting to go to new places and try new things. You have your own wings and you use them quite often. Here, let me help you put it on," He gently took the gift out of her hands and clasped it around her neck. It came down just to the curve of her chest. It glistened in the sunlight and sparkled like magic.

"I don't know what to say. Thank you so much. I'll wear it always," She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close.

He held her there, breathing in her scent of strawberries and vanilla. "I love you Courtney. Forever."

She felt a small tear roll down her cheek and she brushed it away before it could be noticed. "I love you too. Always."

"Amin," He pulled away just enough to look at her face. He leaned in close, smiling adoringly.

"Lle," She smiled back and leaned forward to kiss him, only this time it wasn't rushed or hurried. It was calm and filled with everlasting love.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ch: 19 Early Morning Meeting**

He sat up in bed and stretched. It was early morning and the sun was just creeping above the hills. He looked next to him and smiled. There she was, sleeping next to him. She smiled even in her sleep. He kissed Stephanie's cheek softly so as not to wake her up and quickly dressed.

Elladan yawned and went over to the mirror where a water pitcher and a bowl were sitting. He poured the water into the bowl and washed his face and cleaned his teeth. Then he combed and braided his hair in the typical warrior fashion. He grabbed his sword and bow and with one last kiss to Stephanie's cheek, he walked out of his bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him.

Elrohir had been up for quite some time, watching her sleep. Her shallow breathing was almost enough to make him want to crawl back in bed with her and go back to sleep. She was so calm and peaceful while sleeping, but he knew that as soon as she woke up she would be energetic and bouncy and ready to start a new day. He smiled and laughed to himself quietly. It was amazing at how much his world revolved around her. He kissed her lips gently, that's when he noticed that she had the necklace on that he had given her yesterday. He stood up from his chair, cleaned himself up, and grabbed his sword and bow. He had to meet Elladan this morning for their routine morning spar. He kissed Courtney's forehead and whispered that he loved her into her ear, and then quietly left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

They were about an hour into their sword fight when Erestor showed up wanting to talk to them, mostly to Elrohir.

"What is it Erestor?"

He smiled at the twins. "Courtney's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks."

Elladan raised his eyebrows. "She never told us. Come to think of it, neither did Steph or Allison."

Elrohir nodded his head. "Stephanie said something to me yesterday night about a birthday surprise for Courtney. It was late and she couldn't tell me details. What's going on?"

"Mara had her kittens yesterday and Steph and Allison told me how much Courtney adores cats," Erestor lead the twins to a stone bench and had them sit down. "Allison thought that it would be nice for you to give Courtney a kitten for her birthday Elrohir. What do you think?"

He smiled. "I think that's a wonderful idea. But won't she find out about the kittens? I mean, she's not stupid."

Erestor stood up from the bench. "I have it all figured out. Don't worry about the kittens, but try to keep it a secret. Your father, Glorfindel, and I are trying to arrange a huge birthday feast and party for her. Arwen has already volunteered for the decorations."

"I can take her into town the day that you guys are getting ready. That way she'll be out of the way and you won't have to worry about where she's at and if she'll catch on," Elrohir stood up as did Elladan and they picked up their shirts that they had discarded while sword fighting.

Erestor shook his head. "I need you and Elladan to help me prepare a few things here around the palace."

Elladan looked at Erestor, confused. "Then who's going to keep her away?"

"Allison and Legolas will keep her occupied in town the day we prepare everything. Don't worry. Everything is all set and ready," Erestor started to walk away then remembered something. "Elrohir?"

"Yes?"

"She's very lucky you know."

Elrohir stared at Erestor. "Why do you say that?"

Erestor smiled brightly. "She has someone like you."

**Ch 20: Chocolate Chip Cookies**

It was midday and the smell of chocolate and cookie dough permeated the palace. Stephanie wiped a smear of flour from her cheek and smiled at her friends. "I can't believe that these people have never had chocolate chip cookies."

Courtney nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it. That's sad."

"Do you think they'll like them you guys?" Allison took a cookie tray out of the oven and inhaled the chocolate buttery smell. She sat the tray on a towel and scooped the cookies off the tray onto a decorative plate with a flat knife.

"They better like them or I'll have to eat them all and I don't want to have to do that!" Stephanie stared at the cookies, wishing she could eat every last one of them.

Laughing, Courtney grabbed a cookie and took a bite. "I don't see how they couldn't like them." She picked up a small plate that was littered with the sweet morsels and headed for the kitchen door. "I'm taking these to Elrond, Celeborn, and Thranduil. Wanna come Steph?"

Stephanie wanted to go. She'd never met King Thranduil or Celeborn, but she had to meet Elladan by the large fountain in an hour. "I can't. I have a date."

"Alright, how about you Al?"

Allison looked up at her friend. "I'm gonna finish this last batch of cookies and then I'm going to go talk to Glorfindel."

"You guys an item yet?" Stephanie grabbed a cookie and took a bite, unable to just look at them any longer.

"Not really. I just like to talk to him. He's very smart and I can actually be myself around him," Allison took the last of the cookies and popped them into the oven.

Courtney smiled. "Well I'll see you two later on at dinner. I'll take this tray of cookies to Elrond. I'm sure they need them. After missing two meals, those guys have to be hungry. Have a good day!"

Stephanie and Allison waved at her and watched her leave. Stephanie shook her head and smiled. "I never thought I would say it, but I'm glad that we're here instead of home."

Allison sat down next to Stephanie. "This is home now Steph. Even I have begun to accept that fact."

"I know and I accepted it a long time ago, but i'm genuinely glad that we're here. I feel more at home here than I ever did in Jackson," She slid off the chair and walked over to the door. "I have to go meet Elladan. I will see you at dinner."

"Alright. Have fun!" Allison smiled and followed her friend out of the kitchen to watch her walk down the hall. Yes, this was home. Not just any home, she had her two best friends right here with her. What better home is there than that?

"Come on in," Celeborn had been talking to Thranduil and Elrond all morning, not realizing that they had missed breakfast and lunch. A young human girl walked in with a plate of cookies and a pitcher of what looked like milk.

She smiled at them and sat the plate and pitcher on Elrond's desk. "Good afternoon Elrond. I brought you guys something. I thought you might be hungry missing two meals and all."

Elrond smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I thank you. What is it?"

Courtney laughed. "They're cookies. Chocolate chip to be exact. Steph, Allison, and I made them. They're hot right out of the oven. And that's milk to drink with them."

Thranduil stood up and bowed politely to her while he kissed her hand. "Courtney, it is always a pleasure seeing you again. How are you?"

"I am well sire. And how are you and your family?" She poured three glasses of milk and handed each of them a cookie.

"My wife is forever attending to the needs of others and my son Legolas is here, as you know, visiting," Thranduil smiled at her. There was something about this girl that just made him want to smile inside and out. "And my daughter is visiting some friends in Lothlorien."

Elrond turned Courtney to look at Celeborn. "This is Elrohir's grandfather, Lord Celeborn of Lothlorien."

Celeborn stood up and kissed her hand. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Elrond and Elrohir write and speak of nothing else."

"You flatter me my lord, but thank you just the same. I am what I am," She smiled at them one last time then turned to leave. "I hope you enjoy the cookies and milk."

Thranduil nodded his head. "I'm sure we will. Will we be seeing you at the evening meal then?"

She curtsied. "I will be there sire."

Elrond laughed. "We will talk to you then pen-neth. Good day."

"Good day my lords," with that last statement she closed the study doors and headed for her bedroom for a bath and a good book to read.

**Ch 21: The Journal**

_Knock, knock!_

Courtney looked up from her book to her bedroom door, wondering who could want to see her. "Come on in."

Legolas stepped into her bedroom, smiling his charming smile. "Good afternoon Courtney. May I speak with you?"

"Of course Legolas. One of your visits is always a pleasure," She sat up and laid her book down on the nightstand next to her bed. She took a sip of milk from the glass on the nightstand and looked at Legolas. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I just wanted to know if you could go into town with me next week. I have a few things that I need to get done and I thought that you might like to get out of the palace for a while," He smiled at her and walked around her room, stopping every now and then to inspect a particular painting that caught his eye or a book that interested him.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I have nothing else to do. Elrohir and Elladan said something about having to tutor their new archers overtime every night next week."

Legolas walked over to her bed and sat down. "Elrohir loves you and would spend every moment with you if he could. You know that."

"I suppose I do. It's just strange to not have him around, you know? I feel like half of me isn't there," Courtney looked up into his bright blue eyes, filled with love and friendship for her.

"You are loved by everyone who meets you. You could charm a snake from under a rock if you wanted to," her musical laughter rang through his ears, making him grin like a fool.

Courtney kissed his cheek. "You're so good to me and a wonderful friend to have. I don't think I would have been able to handle this if I hadn't had you to help me through it."

Legolas nodded his head in agreement. "Do you remember the first time you woke up in Mirkwood?"

"Oh please, do we have to talk about that? I can't believe how I acted toward you and your family. I still feel bad about that to this day," Courtney pulled out a black leather-bound journal. "I have written down everything that has happened to me since I first arrived here in this journal. I had just bought this a few days before the accident and it must have carried through when I was brought here."

He smiled at her and took the journal from her. He looked up to her face and smiled shyly. "May I?"

"Go ahead," Courtney watched him open it to the first page. It was the first entry that she had written in it, the night that the accident had happened before Stephanie had come to pick her up for their girl's night out.

Legolas lightly ran his fingers down the page and stared at the words. It was a language that he didn't know. "Can you read this to me? I do not understand it."

Courtney grabbed the journal from him and scooted closer to him so she could hold it up for both of them to see. "I will do more than just read it to you. I'll teach you to read it for yourself. I'll read it to you first and then I'll try to teach you how to read it."

_Dear Journal,_

_Well, tonight is a girls night out for me, Steph, and Allison. We always have so much fun with it's the three of us. You would think that one of us would feel like a third wheel, but it just doesn't work out that way with us for some reason. I love them so much, like they were my own sisters and it's almost like God intended us to meet and have an everlasting friendship. There is only one thing bothering me though. I know that it might sound silly, but it kind of worries me. I have this odd feeling in the pit of my stomach that something is going to happen tonight. Call me crazy, but it's just a weird feeling that I have. Maybe that taco I ate for lunch today isn't agreeing with me, but there's something strange at work. I can almost feel it, taste it in the air. I wanted to tell Steph and Allison this at school today, but it wasn't the right time or place to be discussing such things. Besides, what if they thought I was crazy or something? What if they laughed at me and decided that they didn't want to hang out with me anymore? I don't think I could handle that at all. Oh well. I think I'll just let it go for the time being. I mean, who's to say that something bad will happen tonight? It's just a weird feeling that can easily be caused by something that I ate earlier today. I will admit that lately, I have been worrying a lot about my family. Just over little things, like Kaylee going over to a friends house for the night or Joey going places with a friends family that we don't know very well. I've even been worried about mom and dad. Isn't it their job to worry about me? I feel a deeper appreciation for them for some reason and I can't quite put my finger on the reason why. I've been wondering if it might be God's way of telling me or warning me that something in my life is about to change. But how much change could I possibly go through? Well, I think I hear Steph pulling in to the driveway. I will write back as soon as I figure out what the heck is going on with my life._

_Love Always,_

_Courtney_

She stopped reading and looked up into the eyes of her close friend. "That was the night that we got in the accident. The night that I was brought here to Middle-Earth for God knows what reason."

Legolas wrapped an arm around her and hugged her shoulders. "Please don't be so melancholy. You were brought here for a reason. Even if that reason hasn't yet been made known, it'll show its face soon." He kissed her forehead and closed the journal, setting it on the nightstand on top of the book she had been reading earlier.

"Sometimes I lay awake at night wondering what my family is doing and if they miss me at all. Knowing them they're probably worried sick about me," Courtney picked up the journal and opened it to a new blank page, a couple pages after her first entry. "I think I need to write down a few things before they escape my mind."

"I will leave you in peace to write. If you need me for anything at all, I am right down the hall from your room," He smiled at her and hugged her close. "Thank you for sharing that journal with me. Someday soon you can teach me that language."

Courtney laughed. "I would love to teach you. If I can teach Elrohir I can teach anyone."

He laughed and kissed her cheek one last time before walking out of her bedroom and closing the door softly behind him.

She sat down at the small desk in the corner of her bedroom and sat her journal down in front of her. She dipped her quill into the small pot of ink and began to write:

_Dear Journal,_

_The last time I wrote I was in Mirkwood under the care of Prince Legolas and his father. They have treated me with great care and affection as if I was a member of their family. I, however am very aware of the fact that I am human and there's nothing changing that. Which brings me to the reason as to why I am writing right now. I haven't spoken to Elrohir about this yet, but that is only because I am afraid to. We have so much going for us right now that I couldn't bear to ruin it now. My concern is, if Elrohir is in love with me will he choose to be mortal as I am? This scares me more than anything. I don't want to rob him of his immortality. He was born a half-elf and has the choice of either being mortal and dieing like one, or staying immortal and sail to Valinor as all elves to. He and Elladan both must make this decision. I fear that my heart would break if he would ever leave me behind, but I can't be selfish. He shouldn't forsake his immortality for me. I couldn't bear the thought of him dieing. I wonder if Steph has had any of the same thoughts as I have. Maybe I should talk to her about it when the time is right to discuss such things. If only there was a way that everything could be okay. So that no one would have to worry about dieing or leaving someone that they love behind. The time is getting late and I can hear the dinner bell ringing. I have to go now, but be assured that I will write soon. Sooner than last time, I promise._

_Love Always,_

_Courtney_


	11. Chapter 11

**Ch: 22 Innocent**

Dinner had been wonderful and the company entertaining. Allison smiled at everyone she met and tried to have a good time. After a few hours of mingling and talking, she decided that she needed some fresh air and stepped out into the garden for an early evening stroll, the stars and moon her only light in the dark. She wandered among the many wildflowers and stopped every once in a while to pick one that had caught her eye. There were so many. Roses, daisies, lilies, violets, and tulips peppered the garden in various places. She sat down on a soft bed of grass underneath a tall oak tree and stared at the flowers she held in her hands. Allison smiled as she beheld each flower, each one reminding her of someone.

The tulip reminded her of Courtney. Soft and colorful. Cheerful and unique in its own way. It was a springtime flower that was often placed around the palace to uplift any bad moods and heal any broken hearts. That was Courtney all over. She had a way of being able to make anyone smile no matter how bad their heart was hurting. She could always cheer someone up and make them forget their worries if only for a small measure of time.

Allison laid the tulip in her lap and looked at the next flower. The rose reminded her of Steph. Strong and beautiful. Mysterious and secretive. There was a saying that every rose has its thorns. That fit Steph perfectly. Even though she had one of the cutest personalities, she definitely knew how to use her attitude to let people know not to mess with her. She has her secrets, like everyone, but hers are something more than just your average secret. No, there was something more hidden within the beauty of Steph's heart.

Then came the daisy. This one reminded her of herself. It wasn't the most beautiful flower, but it had a different kind of beauty. It made her smile. It was pretty without being overly pretty, but not too plain. It represented friendship and love for friends. It meant trust and hope and strength. Allison valued her friends above anything else in the world and was always open and willing to be there when her friends needed someone that they could trust.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

Allison's head snapped up. She smiled when she realized who it was. "I just needed some fresh air Glorfindel. I'm fine."

He smiled at her and eyed the flowers in her hands. "You like flowers?"

"I love them. Certain flowers remind me of certain people," She looked away from his eyes back down to the flowers that she held.

"May I sit next to you?" Glorfindel didn't want to seem like he was coming on to her too strongly. He didn't want to chase her away. "I would like to talk to you."

Allison nodded her head and motioned for him to sit next to her. "Have a seat."

He casually walked over to her and sat down gingerly next to her on the grass. "I didn't see you in the ballroom and I worried that something might have happened to you."

"I am fine. I just needed to get out, you know? Sometimes things like this make me nervous and I just need to get away from it. But, you were worried about me?"

Glorfindel nodded his head. "I was. I don't understand it really. I would always look out for you and Stephanie and Courtney, but there's something special about you. I don't know what it is though."

Allison looked up into his eyes. "I am nothing special Glorfindel. I am just and ordinary human girl trying to find her way out in the world. I have nothing to offer and I'm just me."

"I understand that but that's what I like about you. You don't really care to stand out. You just hang back and be yourself and that makes you attractive to me," Glorfindel blushed at the realization of what he had said. He reached for her hand and held it tight. "I don't know how else to say this, but I think that I'm falling in love with you. It hasn't been long, I know, but I can't help how I feel. I think this was love at first sight."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was an elf, a higher being than herself, confessing love for her? It was so overwhelming. "I don't know what to say. I'm speechless. I have never had any guy confess how he feels about me like this before."

He kissed her hand and looked back up into her blue eyes, shining with unshed tears. "I won't hurt you Allison. All I'm asking is that you give me a chance to prove that we were meant to be with each other. Please, grant me this chance."

"I wouldn't pass it up if my life depended on it," She laughed nervously and looked down at her hands at the flowers that she still held. She felt herself being pulled to stand up and the flowers dropped from her hands to the soft grass. Allison hesitantly met Glrofindel's eyes. He leaned in close to her and softly touched his lips to hers in an innocent butterfly kiss that lasted mere moments.

Glrofindel smiled and watched her blush spread from her cheeks to her ears. "You're so new to such deep love. You truly are innocent. Innocent in every way."

**Ch: 23 Birthday Assignments**

A month had passed and it was getting closer to Courtney's birthday. Everyone around the palace was whispering and smiling in a way that made her nervous from time to time. Courtney frequented the gardens, as well as the stables on her own, thinking about her recurring dream and what it could possibly mean. But this morning, she slept peacefully. No frightful pictures disturbed her dreams. The only disturbance was soon to come, little did she know.

Legolas walked briskly to Courtney's bedroom, a smile gracing his fair features. He came to her door and knocked on it. "Courtney? Are you awake yet?"

No answer came. He shrugged his shoulders and opened the door, peeking his head in to take a look around. His eyes fell upon her bed where she was still sleeping. He laughed to himself and walked over to the side of her bed and sat down. He watched her sleep for a few moments then decided to wake her.

"Courtney, you need to wake up!"

She opened her eyes slightly, then rolled over onto her stomach and held the pillow over her head stubbornly to drown out any sound. Obviously she didn't want to get up just yet. "Go away, I'm tired." She reached for the blankets and pulled them over her to cover her entire body, including the pillow over her head.

Legolas laughed heartily and shook his head. "We need to get going mellon-nin. I want to beat the crowd." She gave him no response, instead, she rolled over to the side, facing away from him. "You leave me no choice Courtney."

Grinning wildly, he yanked the sheets and blankets away from her body and grabbed the pillow away from her. He then started to tickle her until she was laughing and begging for him to stop.

"Legolas! Stop! I'm up! I'm up!" Courtney held her sides, now sore from both laughing and her friends' tickling assault. "What a way to wake up a friend Legolas."

"You weren't waking up easily so I had to do _something _to wake you up. Now get dressed and meet me downstairs in the kitchen. We'll grab a quick breakfast and be on our way," he kissed her cheek and walked out of the room, leaving a wide eyed, disheveled young girl on her own in her room.

Elrohir and Elladan watched out of the window of their father's private study. It was the highest balcony in the palace and you could see everything from there. The twins turned around and announced to everyone, "They're gone!"

Elrond clapped his hands, pleased. "Alright everyone, there is something for everyone to do. So listen up while I give you your assignments." He looked at Arwen and Estel, who had arrived from Gondor, for the special occasion of Courtney's birthday. "Arwen, you already know that you are our decorator."

She nodded her head, smiling. "Yes ada. Estel and I have brought some lovely garland and streamers to hang up. Come on Estel." She grabbed his hand and left the study to start her assignment.

"Okay, now Glorfindel I want you to see to the seating arrangements and I want you to arrange the games that will be played. You always think up fun things to play," He smiled at his friend and watched him nod his head and leave the room.

Erestor stepped forward. "Am I to see to the gifts my lord?"

Elrond nodded. "Yes Erestor. I want you to see to the food arrangements as well."

"I will do my best," he too smiled and briskly left the study.

"Lindir I would like for you to do all of the arrangements for music and dancing tonight. Also see to the storytelling as well. I know that Courtney loves stories," He watched as Lindir nodded his head.

"My lord? I have something for Courtney. I know not where the gifts will be kept so what shall I do with it?" Lindir held out a rectangular shaped gift.

Elrond smiled and took it. "I will give this to Erestor when I see him. I will be helping him with the gifts."

Lindir walked over to the doorway. "Thank you my lord." Then he disappeared as everyone else had.

Elladan and Elrohir looked at their father expectantly. Elrohir spoke up first. "Well? What about us?"

"Elrohir, you and Allison will make sure that everything is in line with the theme of this party. As you know, it is a costume party and you two are in charge of picking out and making Courtney her costume. I assume you two have costumes already?"

Allison and Elrohir nodded their heads. Allison smiled at Elrohir and they walked out of the study quietly talking out what Courtney should be.

Elrond turned to his oldest son. "And you. I want you to see to her birthday cake. I know that you have a fondness for seeing to such things. The birthday cake that you designed for Legolas' 1,000th birthday was exquisite. Would you do this for me?"

"I would love to ada. It's a good thing we started early. Nothing would get done on time otherwise!"

Elladan laughed at the playful punch his father gave him and headed off towards the kitchen where Erestor would be, no doubt driving the cooks to the brink of insanity.

Smiling and laughing to himself, Elrond headed down the hallway in the direction that Glorfindel had gone. This was going to be interesting. He knew it would be something that Courtney would not soon forget.

**Ch: 24 Something's Going On**

It was almost noon and they had been out since early that morning. Courtney wandered among the different stands that had been set up for merchants to sell their wares. She passed a small jewelry stand and stopped to look at a small pair of earrings that caught her attention.

"Is there something that interests you my lady?"

Courtney smiled at the merchant, then frowned when she realized that it was the same waiter from the café. "I was just looking at those earrings." She pointed at them and looked away from his eyes. There was something about him that made her uneasy.

He smiled at her and handed the earrings to her, dropping them gingerly into her upturned palm. "They are one of a kind. Pure mithril and small pink diamonds carved out of the very mountains that you see behind me. My name is Galathail by the way."

"Courtney, my name is Courtney. I thought you worked at the café," she closely examined the earrings, watching them sparkle in the bright sunlight.

"I quit working there a few days after you and your, uh, boyfriend came in," Galathail smiled slyly at her. "Do you love him?"

Her head snapped up and she stared at him. "Excuse me? That's none of your business."

Galathail laughed. "It's a simple question. Do you love the guy or not?"

Courtney threw the earrings back down on the table. "Yes I do love him! More than anything else in the world."

"I don't think he deserves you."

"And someone like you does?"

Courtney and Galathail looked to the left and there was Legolas, his knife in his hand. He walked briskly over to Courtney and had her stand behind him. "Who do you think you are to be treating a lady in such a way?"

Galathail looked from Courtney to Legolas. "I was just making conversation my prince."

Legolas scoffed. "I would not call that decent conversation. I don't like how you talk to ladies. Have you learned nothing?"

Courtney stared at Legolas. "You know this creep?"

"I do. He used to live in Mirkwood, but no longer," he sheathed his knife and pointed a finger in Galathail's face. "Never speak to her again. She's too good for you and she very much in love with Elrohir. If I ever catch you talking to her again, I will be the one to end your life, understood?"

Nodding in fear, Galathail looked at Courtney. "I am sorry my lady. I will never treat you this way again."

"You better not or I'll have my own way with you, you jerk!" Courtney turned and walked away, Legolas following her.

He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. "Are you alright? You seem kind of upset."

She looked down at the ground. "I'm fine Legolas. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For coming to my rescue. I appreciate what you did," Courtney wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

He was taken aback at first, but easily settled into the friendly gesture and hugged her back just as tight. "I don't trust him and I was afraid that he might have tried to hurt you."

Courtney pulled away and looked into his eyes. "If Elrohir can't be here to help me then I would always hope that _you _would be the one to turn to."

"I am here for you always. Now come on, we still have many more places to go before we can return to the palace," he smiled at her as she looped her arm through his. Together they headed toward a small stand that was selling something that resembled ice cream.

Courtney smiled as she read the paper that listed the flavors. "This day just got a whole lot better" After reading the list through twice, she finally decided on strawberry-banana. Legolas got Chocolate mint and he lead her to a small table with two chairs.

She sat down her bags, the few that she had, and began to eat her treat. "Legolas?"

"Hm?"

"Is there something going on that you're not telling me about?"

Legolas felt his heart beat quicken. "Uh, no. What would make you ask that?"

Courtney dipped her spoon into her ice cream bowl and brought the sweet frozen delight to her lips and ate it, letting it melt on her tongue. "I don't know. I just get this odd feeling that there's something going on behind my back that I don't know about."

"There's nothing going on mellon-nin, I assure you. But I do have something for you. Since it's your special day and all," he smiled at her and reached into a paper bag and pulled out a long rectangular metal box that was latched shut. He handed it to Courtney who's eyes were wide in shock.

"Legolas? What is that?"

He laughed. "Well open it and see. I hope you will like it."

She carefully unlocked the latches that kept the box shut. Slowly she lifted the lid and gasped, smiling, at what was inside. "Legolas! These are combat knives! How did you know that I was studying how to use them?"

"Glorfindel was telling be about how he was training you to use them and how you always had to borrow Elrohir's knives. I decided that it was time for you to have your own," Legolas felt his breath rapidly leave his chest when he was enveloped in a tight hug, almost cutting off his breathing.

"Thank you so much. They're amazing!"

Legolas smiled at her. "Happy birthday pen-neth."

Courtney shut the lid and latched it so that the knives wouldn't fall out. A small frown touched her lips. "It's kind of bittersweet you know?"

"What do you mean?" Legolas was a little disheartened at her sudden sadness.

"I don't think anyone else has remembered that it's my birthday today. I saw Steph and Allison this morning before we left and neither one of them said 'Happy Birthday'. It's not a huge deal, but it still kind of hurts," she stood up and threw her bowl and Legolas' bowl away and picked up her new gift and the few small bags of her own.

He stood up and offered to carry a couple of her bags, smiling inwardly. "I'm sure that they were just preoccupied with something else. I do not think that they would entirely forget such a special day."

"I hope you're right Legolas. I really do."


	12. Chapter 12

**Ch: 25 Trouble At The Last Minute**

"What do you mean you haven't finished it yet?! We have to have it in 15 minutes!"

The seamstress shook her head. "I am sorry Lord Elrohir, but I am not yet done with it. I need at least another hour if you want me to finish it completely."

Elrohir ran a hand through his hair. This was the last thing he needed, trouble at the last minute. "You've had all day to make this costume Maia. Why isn't it finished?"

"I have had some other orders put in my lord. I had to tend to them as well. If you leave me now, I can try to get it done as quickly as possible," Maia watched him nod his head at her and leave the room, muttering a small 'thank you' before he walked out of the room.

"WHAT! That's ridiculous? How can you not have enough icing? That just doesn't make any sense!"

"I am sorry my lord, but there isn't enough here to cover the entire cake. We need more powdered sugar and vanilla if we're going to make more and we are all out of those two ingredients," The head cook, Celeboril, stood with his hands on his hips. He was truly sorry that the cake couldn't be finished, but what could he do?

Elladan took a deep breath and thought to himself for a moment. "Celeboril, I want you to do everything within your power to get this cake finished. I don't care what you have to do to get it done, just do it. You got it?"

Celeboril nodded his head and sighed heavily. "I will do what I can. Now, leave the kitchen before you do something stupid."

"Please get this done. It's very important," Elladan walked over to the kitchen door.

"Elladan?"

He turned and looked at the cook. "Yes?"

Celeboril smiled brightly. "I will not let you down."

"Thank you, so much."

Lindir sighed for the millionth time that day. "No no no! This is all wrong. There isn't a single instrument here that is in tune. I should have thought about this earlier."

Salvir, another minstrel, walked over to his friend and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Relax mellon-nin. We will sort this out. We have time."

"Not much. I need as many musicians as possible to help tune these instruments by tonight," Lindir sat down the lute that he had been trying to play and picked up a small wooden flute. He blew into it and a sharp off key note screeched from it. "This is going to take a lot of work Salvir, and a lot of patience which I happen to have in short supply right now."

He smiled at his friend and picked up a small violin and began to adjust the strings to his liking. When he was satisfied, he played a few notes, the music flowing throughout the room. Salvir smiled and sat the violin in the pile of instruments that were tuned and ready to go. "We can do this Lindir. Come on, we need to get started if we want to finish on time for the party."

Lindir gave a small smile. He had to keep going and not give up. He refused to let a few out of tune instruments ruin a young girl's birthday party.

Arwen massaged her temples, a headache beginning to settle in. "I have told you a thousand times Estel, Those streamers are not the right colors. We can't hang them."

"I don't see why we can't hang every streamer we have meleth. So what if it doesn't match. It's fun," Estel looked down at the bright orange and red streamers that he held in his hands. He looked around the room. So far the only colors that had been used were purple, pink, and green. "I think the orange would brighten things up a bit."

"No. It would clash. If we hung up the orange streamers we'd have to completely re-do everything that we did. We don't have the time for that right now. Legolas and Courtney are due to arrive very soon and we have to have everything ready," She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her husband. "Put them back in the box and let's go decorate the entrance lobby."

Estel sighed and nodded his head. He packed the bright streamers into the box and picked it up. He carried the box to a closet and put it in there until the other decorations needed to come down and be packed away.

"I did not mean to upset you Arwen. I just think we need a little color that's all," Estel gave her a small smile.

"I know that Estel but it wouldn't go with what we've already put up. Allison's birthday is next. You can decorate for her party if you want to," She smiled up at him and leaned in close. "And you can use all the orange and read streamers that you like."

He laughed and kissed her lips. Sometimes disagreements ended quite nicely.

"Tell me this isn't happening Erestor. Where are the gifts that I ordered?" Elrond glared at his friend. "I ordered those months ago and you tell me that they haven't come in yet?"

Erestor nodded his head. "Yes Elrond. I was just talking to the seller of the gifts you bought Courtney and he says that he's not yet done personalizing them. He said it would be another couple of hours."

Elrond's eyes widened in horror. "WHAT??????? Where is he? I need to have a serious talk with him."

"He went that way," Erestor nervously pointed down the hall to the left and watched his lord and friend stalk down the hallway in frustration.

"I am sorry my lord. I did not think it would take so long to make," Zahir looked down at his feet in shame. He hated that he had disappointed his lord.

Elrond raised his hands to his head and closed his eyes, thinking. "There has to be some way Zahir. I need them. They weren't even big gifts."

Zahir looked up at Elrond's face. "What would you have me do my lord?"

"I would have you finish that gift as soon as you can. I don't want to be the only one there that has no gift for her. Please Zahir, work fast," Elrond laid a hand on the younger elf's shoulder. "I trust you to finish it. A young girl's happiness depends on it."

He nodded his head solemnly. "I will do what I can my lord."

Elrond nodded his head and offered a small smile. "Thank you Zahir."

**Ch 26: Birthday Costume**

Courtney and Legolas walked to her room together, laughing and talking about the day's events and the upcoming costume ball tonight.

"I don't really know what I'm going to be. I don't even have a costume. Maybe I can throw something together really quick," She opened her bedroom door and invited Legolas in.

Legolas couldn't help but chuckle to himself. If things had gone right, she should have a costume waiting for her on her bed. He quickly glanced at the bed, and then smiled. "Is there anything particular that interests you?"

She sat her bags down on a chair next to the door and walked a little further into the room, walking past her bed. "I don't really know if I want to actually BE something. A nice dress and a fancy mask will do fine."

"I want you to do something for me," He reached for her hands and squeezed them. "Close your eyes."

"Why? What's going on?" Courtney winced at the glare he gave her and decided to just close her eyes like he said.

Legolas kissed her forehead. "There's something here for you."

Courtney felt his hands on her arms turning her around. This was starting to scare her. "Legolas, what is going on?"

"Open your eyes and find out," He pulled her hands away from her eyes slowly.

"Oh my goodness! Where did that come from?" She ran over to her bed and picked up the lilac colored dress. It was floor length and had a v-neck. The sleeves were long and ended in a bell. Next to the gown, a small pair of silver wings and a silver mask was sitting, glistening in the moonlight.

Just then Elrohir and Allison walked into the room, beaming. Elrohir walked over to Courtney and kissed her deeply. "Allison and I had it made for you. Do you like it?"

Courtney reached up and laid a hand on each of his cheeks. "I love it meleth. Thank you." She kissed him again and looked over his shoulder to Allison. "You were in this with him?"

"I was. I knew you didn't have a costume yet, so I had Elrohir help me pick out the color and design. I'm glad that you like it," Allison smiled at her friend and hugged her. "I knew that purple was your favorite color. You're too easy."

"What are you going to be?" Courtney laid the dress out on the bed.

Allison sat down on the bed next to Courtney and watched the guys leave quietly. "Same thing you are. My dress is blue though, and Steph's is dark green. We're kind of going to be a fairy trio."

Courtney smiled and looked back at the dress once again. "I don't know how to thank you enough. Um, Al?"

"Yeah."

"Is there anything special about today?" Courtney watched her friend carefully.

It took everything in her not to laugh, but Allison knew she couldn't blow the secret now that they'd come this far. "No. Not that I can think of. Hey, I gotta go get ready and you should too. Steph, Elrohir, Elladan, Glorfindel, and I will be here in an hour and a half. Be ready."

She frowned for a moment, hurt, and then resumed her usual cheery outlook. "Alright. Sounds good. I'll see you then I guess."

Allison turned and left the room. When she reached the hallway she closed Courtney's bedroom door and erupted into a fit of laughter. Just then, Glorfindel happened to walk by and notice her laughter.

"What is so funny meleth?" He wrapped is arms around her and held her close.

"She has no idea! She thinks that everyone has forgotten her birthday. It's sad but I can't wait to see the look on her face when everyone surprises her!" Allison kissed his lips briefly and turned to walk away.

Glorfindel smiled wickedly and held on to her, bringing her to face him again. "You think that a kiss as small as that is going to satisfy me? Think again anor-nin."

Allison sighed. "It'll have to do for now Fin. I have to go get ready."

"Kiss me for real and then I'll let you go."

"Let me go and I'll give you a real kiss."

He smirked at her. "You're playing games and this reverse psychology thing isn't going to work on me."

Allison rolled her eyes. "Alright fine. But you have to let me go when we're done."

Glorfindel smiled and nodded his head. He dipped his head to receive her kiss that swept him away. What was meant to be a loving kiss, ended up being an almost full blown make-out! Allison pulled away and smiled at him, her cheeks flushed.

"Now I have to go. I'll see you tonight," She kissed his cheek and started walking away.

"Until tonight uthaes-nin," He waved at her and sighed. His life couldn't possibly get any better, could it?


	13. Chapter 13

**Ch: 27 The Costumes**

She sat at her vanity, watching the elf maid twist and tie up her hair. It was extremely intricate and there were small white rose buds woven into the braids. Stephanie smiled at her reflection and for the millionth time that night told herself that she couldn't believe she'd let her hair grow so long. It was almost to her lower back now. It was getting harder to manage as well. But if it was the style for Middle-Earth, then she would just have to deal with it.

The maid stopped and stood back, admiring her work. "There you go miss. I think it looks quite lovely, don't you?"

"It looks beautiful Dalia. Thank you. I don't think I could have done something like this on my own. No, let me re-phrase that. I _know _I couldn't have done something like this. I appreciate it," She smiled at Dalia through the mirror and started putting glitter on her eyes and on her cheekbones, but not so much that it was overdone. She brushed some green eye shadow on and some light red lipstick.

Dalia smiled at her mistress. "Is there anything that you need before I retire for the night my lady?"

Stephanie stood up from the small chair and walked over to the bed where her forest green dress was waiting to be put on. "I think I'm going to need help doing up all of the strings in the back of this dress. Will you help me?"

"Of course miss. It would be my pleasure. Now step out of your robe and I'll help you into your dress," Dalia turned the dress over so she could untie all the laces while Stephanie undressed. She held out the dress and Stephanie stepped into it, eager to have cloth covering her body once again. The dress was a rich velvet material and it felt soft against her skin. The neckline was a curve and came down just low enough to show the curve of her chest. The sleeves were straight and ended in a 'v' at the back of her hands. It was floor length and hand gold leaves and flowers embroidered around the middle like a belt.

Dalia had Stephanie turn around so she could lace up the back. Stephanie waited patiently until Dalia had finished, then slipped the wings on. They were gold and had gold glitter all over them. Her mask was much the same way. Gold sequins adorned it. She strapped the mask around her head, careful not to mess up her hair. She turned around so Dalia could see her.

"What do you think?"

Dalia smiled. "You look beautiful my lady. But there's something missing."

Stephanie looked at herself, inspecting the dress and the wings and the mask. "What's missing Dalia?"

"I know what it is."

Stephanie and Dalia turned to face the door. Elladan was leaning against the door frame nonchalantly, grinning like a wildcat. Dalia curtsied and quickly dismissed herself so her mistress and Elladan could be alone.

Stephanie smiled. "Hello Elladan."

He walked over to her slowly, taking her in. She looked beautiful and he knew that he didn't need to tell her that. It was one of those unspoken understandings that they had between one another. He sat down a small box that he had been carrying and reached out for her face. He softly removed the mask from her face and sat it on the bed next to the box. "I don't think I need to tell you that you look stunning. And I have just the perfect thing that will finish off your costume."

"Elladan, you didn't have to get me anything. If you keep this up you might spoil me!"

"I don't mind spoiling you. You're my wife-to-be. I think I'm entitled to the spoiling factor. Here, open it up," he handed her the small velvet box.

She gingerly opened the lid and beamed brightly at what sat inside. A small fairy charm hung from a delicate gold chain. The fairy's wings were diamonds and her dress was an emerald, the same color as Stephanie's dress. "Elladan! I love it! But why?"

He laughed and took it from her to latch it around her neck. He kissed her deeply. "Because I love you. That's why."

"Thank you. Did you have it made to match my dress?"

"Yes. When you told me that you were thinking of a green dress, I rushed to the jeweler to have this made for you so you could have it in time for this special occasion of Courtney's birthday," He kissed her cheek and sat the box on her vanity.

Stephanie sighed. "She thinks that no one has remembered her birthday."

Elladan raised an eyebrow in question. "Really?"

"Yeah. Allison said that Courtney asked her if today was a special day. Allison told her no so that she wouldn't catch on to what was going to happen," Stephanie looped her arm through Elladan's and let him lead her to Allison's bedroom.

"This will be quite a surprise for her then. I hope she doesn't have a heart attack," He laughed as Stephanie playfully punched his shoulder.

Allison stood in front of her tall stand-up mirror and gazed at her reflection. She had been dressed and ready to go long before she needed to be. She just wanted to make sure that everything looked right before she was escorted into the large ballroom where everyone would be waiting for Courtney and Elrohir to arrive.

Her dress was a bright sky blue. It was an off-the-shoulder dress that accented her figure nicely without exposing her too much. The sleeves were long and bell shaped. The dress barely skimmed the floor. Silver glitter was scattered all over her dress and she was surprised that it hadn't rubbed off at all yet. Her hair was curled in ringlets and left down. A small silver headband was all that she wanted in her hair. Her wings were silver with silver glitter and her mask had silver sequins.

"Well Allison, this is your first ball, try not to mess it up for yourself," She sighed and smiled to herself. She'd never been to a ball before. The closest thing to a ball that she'd been to was prom, and that wasn't exactly the dream ball that she had seen when she watched Cinderella when she was a little girl.

Glorfindel walked into her bedroom, not bothering to knock. He walked through the entrance way and stopped short, his breath leaving his lungs, his words forgotten in his mouth. He couldn't do much but stare at her and she was still oblivious to his presence. He slowly walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

He kissed her cheek. "You look more beautiful than all the stars in the heavens above."

She giggled and turned to face him. "You have such a way with words. It's enough to make my knees weak."

"I will be the envy of everyone at the ball tonight," Glorfindel held on tight to her and smiled his most charming smile. "We are to arrive early tonight if we want to be part of the surprise."

Allison laughed. "I feel so bad Fin. She's so sad that we might have forgotten her birthday."

Glorfindel laughed and grabbed her hand leading her out of her bedroom. "She's in for the surprise of her life. Everyone is here you know."

"Really? Who all is here, with the exception of Elrond's family and friends?" Allison took his offered arm and they headed down the hallway together.

"Lord Celeborn and his wife Galadriel arrived this afternoon. King Thranduil has been here for weeks visiting with Legolas, you knew that. Lady Eowyn has come from Rohan to meet you and Steph and Courtney. Let's see, who else?" He thought hard and then it dawned on him. "And the hobbits from the shire are here as well as Gimli. There's many more. It's going to be one eventful night and we still have Steph and Elladan's wedding coming up."

She smiled and nodded her head. "There's so much to do and so little time to do it in."

Glorfindel laughed and kissed her cheek. "I couldn't have put it better myself."

Elrond looked around the ballroom nervously, sending servants in every direction to make sure that everything was ready and in place. Arwen noticed the agitated look on her father's face and walked over to him to kiss his cheek.

"Everything looks wonderful ada, quit worrying," She laughed at his insecure smile. "I don't think I've ever seen you this flustered."

He smiled at his beautiful daughter and lightly touched her soft cheek. "I am just greatful that I have you to keep me grounded, my undomiel."

Arwen laughed and left her father to join Estel and a few of the Gondorian soldiers that had come along with them.

It was then that Glorfindel, Allison, Stephanie, and Elladan entered the ballroom. They were all smiling and talking amongst each other.

"I hope she likes her costume," Stephanie smiled at her friends. "I heard that Elrohir had a heck of a time getting it done on time."

Elladan laughed. "Did you hear that he ended up having to help the seamstress finish sewing it?"

Glrofindel and Stephanie both looked at the twin, shocked. Glorfindel was the first to find his voice. "Are you kidding me?"

"I kid you not mellon-nin. Now let's go get up front so we can see her reaction easily," He grabbed Stephanie's hand, kissed it, then lead her to the front of the crowd that had gathered at the bottom of the grand stair case. It was fast approaching sunset and Courtney and Elrohir were due to arrive any minute now. Finally, the sun had set, Elrond surveyed the crowd as everyone held their breath in anticipation.

**Ch:28 The Surprise**

Courtney finished the last braid in her hair and looked into her mirror. The lavender dress fit her form perfectly and showed off her curves in all the right places. She smiled at herself and grabbed the mask from her bed and eased it over her face. She was just beginning to think that she looked a little plain when there was a knock at her door.

"Come on in."

Elrohir opened the door, smiling, then stopped dead in his tracks and took in the sight before him. He had always thought that she was beautiful but if it was even possible, she looked even more beautiful now in elven clothing. "I have come for you meleth." He walked over to her and kissed her deeply. "You look radiant this night."

She laughed and kissed his lips again. "Thank you. You're too kind. Ready to go?"

"I am ready to escort you if you will have me," He felt her loop her arm through his and knew what her answer was.

Courtney smiled as he lead her out of her room and towards the grand stair case where they would make their way to a small costume party with Elrohir's family and a few friends, at least that's what she thought it was. "Ro?"

"Hmm?"

"Wasn't today special for some reason?"

It took everything in him not to smile and give everything away. "I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

Courtney sighed then plastered a quick smile to her lips. "It's nothing really. Where is everyone else? I thought Al, Steph, Glrofindel and Elladan were coming with you."

"I told them to go ahead without us since they were ready a long time ago. I didn't think you would mind too much. Do you meleth?" He kissed her cheek. The stair case was drawing closer, and just at he bottom of it was the biggest surprise she'd ever get.

"I don't mind. I was just wondering," she sighed again and let him lead her around the corner. Little did she know that her spirits were about to be lifted.

Allison glimpsed Elrohir and stood on the bottom step to face the crowd. "I would like it if everyone would be silent for a few minutes so she thinks this isn't some big thing. Hearing all of your voices will spoil the surprise."

Instantly everyone in the room fell silent. Elrond smiled and nodded his head at Allison who stepped down from the step to rejoin Glorfindel and her friends.

She had been looking at the paintings that they were passing by when she finally remembered where she was going. Courtney looked at Elrohir who seemed to be trying to hide a smile. She decided to ignore it for the time being. Just then they reached the top of the stairs. She felt all of the air leave her lungs at once.

"SURPRISE!!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY COURTNEY!!!!!!!!!"

Courtney turned her head into Elrohir's shoulder, unable to hold her tears and shock inside of her. She looked around once more at the hundreds of smiling faces that stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh my lord…this isn't real…"

Elrohir grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "It is very real meleth. This night is for you only."

"Remind me to punish you later. I can't believe you kept this from me!" She tried her best to smile and gain her senses back.

"I look forward to it," He led her down the stairs where her friends were waiting with open arms to hug her and kiss her and wipe away her tears of relief. Stephanie got to her first.

"You didn't honestly think that we forgot your birthday did you?" Stephanie hugged Courtney tight and pulled away. "What kind of friends would we be if we did that to you?"

Courtney laughed. "I was getting worried. This is so great though. Wow…so many people…"

Allison hugged her friend. "We were all behind it. Everyone had something to attend to so that everything got done quicker. Legolas offered to get you out of here for the day while decorations were put up and your costume was made and laid out for you."

"So that's why we came in through the back of the house then Legolas?" She looked at him questioningly with a small smile. "I thought that was strange."

"I hoped that you wouldn't notice. Can you believe that they still weren't ready when we got back?" Legolas laughed as he got a playful punch from each of the twins.

Elrond walked up to the group of friends and kissed Courtney's cheek. "Happy Birthday pen-neth. Shall we go eat something?"

"Food sounds great. I only hope I can keep it down though. The butterflies are still flying around in my stomach," she smiled tenderly at Elrond.

Elladan smiled at her. "You will be fine. Come on, we had your favorite dinner made."

She looked at him, puzzled. "And how would you know what my favorite dinner was?"

Stephanie looped her arm through Courtney's. "Let me say this. What's a birthday party without pizza?"

"NO WAY!!!!! You managed to have pizza made?" Courtney wrapped her arms around her friend, both of them laughing. She grabbed Steph's hand and ran with her into the dining hall, eagerly waiting for her pizza.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 29: Gift Giving**

Carefully she removes her mask so she can see what she's eating. Trying to eat pizza with a mask on was kind of hard and it prevented the wonderful smell of the food from entering her nose. Courtney looked up at Elrohir as he pulled her chair out for her, helping her to sit down beside Stephanie. Elladan was on Stephanie's other side, and once convinced that his beloved was comfortable where she was sitting, Elrohir took his seat beside her.

"Wow you guys, this is just too good to be true," gingerly, she takes a bite of the delicious and familiar food, savoring its taste since it was rare that they got pizza. It was a hassle for the cooks to make since it was new to them, but when pizza was made, it was greatly appreciated.

Stephanie smiles at her friend and gives her a quick hug. "This had to be special, Court. I mean, you're 18 now. Legally an adult." She laughs softly and takes a bite of her own pizza, taking a look around the table at the elves around them, trying to figure out how to eat the gooey cheesy mess. Elrond, Glorfindel, Erestor, and Legolas, as well as Thranduil and Celeborn knew how to eat it, since they had eaten it before, but it was amusing trying to see everyone else have a hard time of it.

Courtney nodded her head in reply, also noticing the trouble. She clears her throat and smiles. "Hands, people, use your hands. Like this." She picks up her piece of pizza and takes a bite, then sets the food back down onto her plate with a knowing smile. She swallows the bite and takes a sip of her ice water. "See? Easy."

Elladan and Elrohir laugh and smile at her as a noble stands up, addressing Courtney. "You're telling us to eat with our hands? Are you crazy?"

"Go ahead and use a fork if you wish. It's just more fun to use your hands," Allison smiles at Courtney, more than happy to back up one of her best friends.

The three girls laugh, Courtney looking up at the nobleman who'd addressed her. "I guarantee that you'll live if you eat with your hands, my lord. It's not going to kill you."

The nobleman sat back down once more and stared at his piece of pizza for a few moments, then finally gave in and picked it up with his hands, taking a bite, then smiling as he chewed it, directing the smile at Courtney who nodded her head politely, smiling back.

Allison leaned in closer to Courtney and Stephanie, speaking softly. "Some of these people are just too much to handle. For goodness sake!"

Stephanie laughed behind her hand and then sipped her water. "Well they aren't used to how we are and how we eat, Al. I mean, these are very well rounded people. Not freaks like us."

Courtney looked at the petite girl with mock horror. "How dare you call me a freak on my birthday, Steph!"

They were all laughing when Elrond decided to enter the conversation. "Mellyn-nin? What's going on with you three? Care to share?"

"Well, it's really not all that important. Stephanie was teasing me, that's all," She had to really hold back her laughter. Courtney decided that it was a good time to take a drink of her water and so she did, to hide her mirth.

The other two had no trouble giggling as they ate, Elrond and the others watching them with smiles. Celeborn leaned in closer to Elrond and laughed. "They sure do know how to brighten a room, do they not my friend?"

"That they do, hir-nin. Their laughter never dies down. It's a constant thing. I've grown accustomed to hearing it from day to day and my sons are absolutely smitten. I never thought I would see them this happy. Not since their mother died," Elrond sighed softly, his smile fading a bit at the mention of Celebrian.

Celeborn laid a hand on his son-in-law's shoulder, smiling gently. "Don't grieve this night, Elrond. You'll see her again one day. For now, let's enjoy the festivity."

Elrond chuckled softly to himself and sipped his wine. "You speak wisely. Thank you."

A couple hours later, once everyone was done eating, Elrohir led Courtney by the waist to a chair in the middle of the room. She looked at him, a little confused, as he smiled softly and kissed her lips, whispering to her. "Relax. Presents are always fun."

Smiling with relief, Courtney kissed his cheek and took a look around her. Everyone stood around her, holding his or her gift for Courtney in their hands. The other guests had left and it was down to the twins, Arwen and Estel, Legolas, Thranduil, Celeborn, Glorfindel and Erestor, and Elrond, as well as Stephanie and Allison.

Elladan stepped forward first, smiling softly at her, kneeling down to kiss her cheek and place a box on her lap. It was wrapped in silver paper and tied off with a green bow. "Happy Birthday, mellon-nin." He continued to kneel there in front of her, just smiling.

"Thank you, 'Dan," She looked down at the box and untied the ribbon then ripped through the silver paper. The bow was wooden and on the lid her name was carved in elvish script. Carefully she lifts the lid, smiling at what she saw inside. There were three bracelets. One was made of mithril, small oak leaves carved into it. The second one was made of gold, small diamonds set into it. The third one was pure obsidian. It had no decoration. It was beautiful just as it was. She puts them on and sets the box beside her, hugging Elladan. "I love them."

Satisfied that she was happy, Elladan hugged her back and took his place beside Stephanie who stepped forward and handed her gift to Courtney. "Here you go. Hope you like it." She placed a rectangular package into Courtney's hands. It was light and somewhat flat, like a book.

Courtney smiles at her friend and starts to rip into the red and gold paper. "I'll love it Steph. I know I will." She looks down to her gift and tosses the paper into a wicker waste basket that had been set beside her. In her hands she held a leather bound journal with her name in the corner. She opened it to the first page, each piece of parchment was neatly lined and the inside cover had a message written in English. _God works in mysterious ways. Hey, he brought us together right? Happy Birthday! Sincerely, Steph_

"I thought you might need a new journal. You said you were running out of space in your old one and this one has twice as much paper," Stephanie continued to look at Courtney, wondering if she liked the gift or not.

Courtney stood up, setting the journal on the floor beside Elladan's gift. She then wrapped her arms around Stephanie, hugging her close and tight. "Thank you so much. You know me better than I give you credit for." She smiles and sits down once more, letting Steph return to her seat in the circle beside Elladan.

Next up was Arwen, who carried a small square box, wrapped in blue paper, tied off with a silver ribbon. "This is from both Estel and I. We saw this about a month ago and it practically screamed your name at us."

"It must be special then to have screamed my name," Courtney smiles softly and watches as Arwen kneels down in front of her, much like Elladan had done earlier. She then moves her eyes to the gift, untying the ribbon and removing the paper, revealing a slender wooden box. She gently lifts the small latch, lifting the lid. Her eyes widen to the point that it almost hurt. "Oh wow," She takes a silver necklace out of the box, holding it up into the light. The chain was silver mithril and rather delicate. The charm that hung from the chain was a six pointed star, an aquamarine stone in the direct center of the star. There was a diamond on each corner of the star. It was breathtaking. Everyone in the room gave an audible gasp as it was held up.

Arwen smiled brightly. "I knew you would like it."

Courtney put the necklace back in the box and put it with her other gifts. "Saying that I like it is an understatement. I absolutely love it. Thank you." She then hugs the elven maiden, smiling as she does so. That done, she stands up and walks over to Estel, hugging him, receiving a hug in return. "Thank you to you both."

Estel smiles at her and gently touches her cheek. "Happy Birthday, mellon-nin."

She laughs softly and walks back over to her seat, patiently waiting for the next person. This time, Glorfindel stepped forward, hands behind his back, obviously shielding something from her view. He walked over to her and smiles. "Well, pen-neth, I had a hard time deciding just what to get you. Please stand up."

Courtney looked around at everyone a little nervously then focused her attention back on Glorfindel, wondering what he was up to. It was then that he brought his present out from behind his back. In his hands he held a long bow, crafted of the finest oak wood, elven script decorating the handle. In his other hand, he held a quiver of arrows, her name written in the script on the strap of the quiver. She smiles brightly.

"Glorfindel, they're wonderful. Does this mean…?"

He nods, laughing softly. "Yes it does. I'm going to teach you, though you are learning rather quickly from Elrohir and Legolas. I have a few tricks of my own to show you. What do you say?"

She takes the gifts and leans them against her chair, then wraps her arms around him, hugging him tight. "I say yes. And thank you. I'm sure it'll be interesting."

Glorfindel gently kissed her forehead then once more took his seat. Once he was seated, Erestor stepped forward, kissing her forehead like Glorfindel had done, handing her a rectangular package. "I know that you'll enjoy this."

"I'm sure I will," She smiles softly then removes the green wrapping, tossing it into the waste basket.She smiled even brighter when she read the title of the leather bound book she held in her hands. "The Tale Of Beren And Luthien." She carefully traces her finger tips over the embossed title, trying hard to contain herself. She looks up at Erestor. "You told me there weren't any spare copies you little sneak."

Erestor laughs and nods his head. "I wasn't lying. I copied this for you. I bought that book blank and re-copied the story from our copy in the library. It took a few days, but it was well worth it. You told me it was your favorite story. How could I deny you?"

Courtney shakes her head, laughing, then hugging him. "Thank you so much. I can't wait to read it tonight."

"Maybe we could read it together. I'd love for you to read to me. It's been centuries since I last heard that tale," He leaned in and gently kissed her cheek, delighting in the smile that the human girl gave him.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. I look forward to it, mellon-nin."

Once she was settled in her chair again, Courtney took another look around her, wondering who was next. It was Legolas that took a step toward her this time, a bright smile etched onto his kind and handsome face. Slowly, he approaches her and kneels down before her as the others had done, placing a small box down on her lap. It wasn't wrapped. It was beautiful just as it was.

"Legolas, what is this? You've already given me a gift. The sparring knives, remember?" She looks at him, somewhat lost, as she takes the box into the palm of her hand. It was so small.

"I saw this at the last minute. I had to get it for you because I knew that you would put it to good use. Now, stop being stubborn and please open my gift," He smiles softly at her, eagerly waiting for her to open the box. He was anxious for her reaction.

She gives him one last look and then turns her sapphire blue eyes to the small box, lifting the lid and setting it on her lap. She smiles brightly at what was inside. "Oh, Legolas. I can't accept this." In the palm of her hand she held a small blue stone hat was smooth to the touch. She held it up to the light, looking into the stone, a six pointed star appearing within the blue stone.

Legolas smiles at her and chuckles a bit. "Of course you can accept it because I give it to you. You know what this is, I am sure."

Courtney nods her head softly. "Yes. Erestor was telling me about them a few weeks ago. It's a Star Stone."

"Correct. So whenever you are lost, all you need do is gold it up to the sunlight or moonlight, and the star within will guide you to your destination," Legolas smiles brightly, watching Courtney as she examines the small stone.

Smiling, Courtney wraps her arms around his neck, embracing the Mirkwood prince tightly. "You have already given me so much, mellon-nin. Now this. I can't even begin to thank you for everything you've done for me and for my friends."

"No need, pen-vanima. All the thanks I need is your smile. And I have that now," He stands up, lightly kisses her cheek, and then sits back down.

Thranduil steps forward next, a rather pleasing smirk on his face. He held out his hand to Courtney, laughing softly when she hesitates. "My gift to you is impossible to wrap and too big to bring into the palace. Please, come with me."

Courtney looks around at everyone and then back to Thranduil, carefully placing her hand into his, letting the king pull her up from her seat to lead her out of the palace toward the stables. It was a few minutes before one of the stable hands emerged from the stables, leading a beautiful black stallion to Thranduil and Courtney, everyone else following close behind, their jaws dropped in awe and shock.

"Oh wow, Thranduil. He's, wow, amazing. But you didn't have to do this. I mean, stallions aren't exactly cheap," She reaches out to the animal, smiling when it nuzzles her hand and then her soft neck. She let's go of Thranduil's warm hand and gently pats the stallions' neck.

Thranduil gently strokes the horses' side. "I heard you were riding a rather old horse and I took it upon myself to see to it that you got a new one. He's got spirit, which reminded me of you immediately. Do you like him?"

Courtney laughs, watching as everyone else gathered around to stroke and pet the horse. "I absolutely love him. Thank you so much. But what shall I name him?"

"What about Midnight?" Estel looked over to Courtney, wondering what she thought of his suggestion.

She shakes her head politely. "That's a good idea, but it's too common."

Everyone is silent for a moment or two, thinking about what to name the stallion.

"Ithilim. That's his name."

Everyone, including the horse, looks over to Elrohir who was smiling and patting the stallions' neck. He leans in close to Courtney and kisses her lips. "Do you like that meleth-nin?"

Courtney smiles and blushes a slight bit. They didn't usually kiss in front of everyone like that. "I love that name. Moonlight. It's the perfect name for him."

One by one, they headed back into the palace. Courtney takes her seat once more, excited to ride Ithilim tomorrow morning the first chance she got.

"Now, it is my turn, pen-tithen. And I pray that you will like it," Celeborn stepped forward, kissed her cheek, and handed her a square package. It was skinny and very light.

She laughs and starts to rip the paper. "Everyone says that and I always end up loving whatever it is. Relax." She finally gets all the wrapping off of the gift, her smile widening, now ear-to-ear. "This is beautiful, Lord Celeborn. Did you do this?"

Celeborn smiled down at her, nodding his head. "I did, pen-neth."

It was a sketch of Courtney, sitting in the study writing in her journal. Everything about the drawing was perfect. It was so life-like, and on top of that, it was framed so no harm would come to it. She was at a loss for words


End file.
